


The Switch AU

by CrystalNinjaPhoenix



Category: jacksepticeye
Genre: Alternate Universe, Extreme Distress, Gen, Original Characters - Freeform, Personality Swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:54:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 84,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25317880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNinjaPhoenix/pseuds/CrystalNinjaPhoenix
Summary: In a different world, the characters we know and love have been switched around. Jackie's a doctor while his friend Schneep goes out at night dressed as a superhero. JJ is a successful magician, and his roommate Marvin is from another time period. And let's not forget Anti, the YouTuber/computer programmer. Soon the five friends find themselves targeted by someone—or something—else.
Relationships: Henrik & Anti, Jackie & Anti, Jackie & Henrik, Marvin & Jameson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Prologue - Cognitive Distortions

It’s been a long day. Even though you want nothing more than to go home and relax after work, you know you’re out of food back at your apartment, so you need to run down to the shop real quick. There’s one right near your apartment building that’ll do. It’s not a full-on grocery store, closer to a convenience store, but it has some instant meals you can use, since you don’t really feel like cooking right now. **  
**

The worker at the cash register greets you cheerfully. You recognize her. And it seems like she recognizes you. Man, you must really be in here too often. You start perusing the aisles, but…you have the strangest feeling creeping along the back of your neck. Like someone is watching you. You pause, and look around. The store is empty besides you. Maybe there’s someone in the next aisle. You pick up one of the instant boxes and go into the next aisle.

Nobody is there. You think, after you’ve turned around, that you’re being kind of ridiculous. Maybe you’re just starting to get freaked out because the sun is going down. You start to go back over to the other aisle, only to realize you’ve dropped the box. You pick it up and frown at it. You don’t remember dropping it. It must’ve just slipped out of your fingers. But you also notice that your heart is pounding and you’re breathing heavily. There’s a jittery feeling in your stomach, like anxiety. Overall, you feel like you’ve just been scared, but you don’t remember seeing anything worth getting scared over. Are you having an anxiety attack? Is this what it feels like?

You shrug it off and pick up a few more instant meals before checking out at the cash register. The worker asks if you’re alright, because you’re very pale and look like you’d just seen a ghost. You ask her if there was anyone else in the shop. She looks around. At one point here eyes widen and her head whips back toward you like she saw something, but then she shrugs and says there are no other customers. You thank her, and leave with your purchases in a paper bag.

On the way home, you start spacing out. It’s not really your fault it’s just…your thoughts don’t feel quite connected to each other. Like they’re floating away in a fog. Not daydreaming, exactly, more like you’re just…tired. But without the physical symptoms. Your legs are working on autopilot, going at a normal speed with no weakness. But no matter how hard you concentrate, you can’t pull out of the gray fog in your head and into the real world. It’s pretty dreary, but you don’t care to fix it.

Suddenly, you shake your head. No, this was no time for…whatever that was. You aren’t quite sure. You also aren’t quite sure how you got where you are now. Confused, you look around. It’s the train station, one of the three in the city. This one was on the north edge of town, and it was pretty far from both the shop where you just were, and your apartment. The sun has basically set at this point, and the lights of the outdoor station had automatically turned on. The station was completely abandoned. No workers, no passengers in sight. Just benches and the occasional piece of rubbish skittering across the concrete.

A noise comes from the tracks. It sounds a bit like footsteps on gravel, which lines the parallel strips of iron that the trains ride on. Curious, but also cautious, you hold your paper bag tight and walk over to the tracks.

Well. There is a man sitting there. Cross-legged, right in the middle of the train tracks. He’s very gray. His clothes are gray, his skin has a gray tint, his hair is a brown-gray color, even the brim of his cap, which should be a pink-red, is actually a red-gray. You can’t really make out any features beyond those stabilizing points. When you try to focus on his face, you can’t concentrate. It’s like trying to look at someone through foggy glass, or trying to catch a reflection in a rippling pond. You think he’s looking at you, but it’s…hard to tell.

You ask him why he’s sitting on the tracks.

“ ~~I’m waiting for the train~~ ,” he says. His voice is…odd. It almost sounds like there’s an echo behind the words, or like they’re running together, or like you’re listening through a steady layer of background noise. Either way, you can’t really remember what it actually sounds like.

You tell him that he shouldn’t be on the tracks. If a train comes, it could hit him.

He laughs. “ ~~You know, that’s kind of the idea, right?~~ ”

You feel worried. Even if this guy is…weird, that doesn’t mean he deserves to get run over by a train. You ask him to please rethink this, and come back onto the station platform.

“ ~~That’s nice of you to think about me~~ ,” he says with a smile. Actually, you realize he’s been saying everything with a smile. “ ~~Not many people do. And I guess that’s my fault, for hiding, but you’d think people would try. Like you just did.~~ ” He stands up. Something about the way he does it gives you the creeps. “ ~~What’s your name?~~ ”

You hesitate, then tell him.

“ ~~That’s a cool name.~~ ” He tilts his head to the side. The movement is accompanied by a cracking sound. Heads aren’t supposed to move that far, are they? “ ~~You want to know mine? Maybe I’d tell you. I dunno, there are a lot of factors to take into play here.~~ ” His head snaps back into place. “ ~~You seem cool. Want to hang out sometime?~~ ”

You take a few steps back. You keep trying to blink through this—this distortion that this guy seems to be giving off. He’s…kind of unnerving. You squeeze your eyes shut and open then again. And now you can see his eyes clearly. They’re—they’re black. All pitch-black, and leaking a steady stream of blood. You gasp.

“ ~~No, don’t be scared!~~ ” he says, taking a step toward you while not getting off the tracks.“ ~~I just want to be friends.~~ ”

You shake your head, backing up steadily now and stammering excuses.

He keeps staring at you, still smiling. “ ~~Okay. I get it.~~ ” Then his head turns sideways. “ ~~Oh, look, the train is coming.~~ ”

There’s the sound of a whistle in the distance. You turn and see a passenger train barreling towards the station. It’s going fast, clearly not going to make a stop here. You look back towards the guy on the tracks, and blink in surprise. He wasn’t the same…thing as before. Just a normal guy, wearing a gray shirt and cap, watching the train come with resigned blue eyes. You gasp. You’re not sure if you’re hallucinating or what, but the guy seems real. He doesn’t have the same weird distortion effect the thing did. And as your head flips back and forth between him and the approaching train, it hits you with a jolt. He was real. Whatever you were seeing before was all in your head. And now, a guy is about to be hit by a train.

You yell, but he just stares at you sadly. The train is close enough for you to hear the clacking of the wheels. After a moment of grappling with the choice, you throw your bag to the side and leap off the platform and onto the tracks, pushing the guy out of the way at just the moment the train hits.

It’s agony. The impact rips through you, leaving nothing but pain behind. You scream. And then, you realize that you wouldn’t be able to scream if you were dead. And, by opening your eyes, you discover that you still have them. There’s no train anywhere, either coming or going. The moment you realize that, the pain response shuts off entirely. You’re laying on the tracks, and despite being totally uninjured, your body is in too much shock to get up and leave.

You stare up at the evening sky. You stare. You move your head. Moving head is too much effort. Brain is noise. You move. You wonder what was real. You stare. You wonder why you can’t think. Brain is noise. You stare at the tracks. You wonder. Thoughts are clipped. Thoughts aren’t working. You move. You’re really trying but you can’t think. Thinking is too much effort. Thoughts are floating in a fog. You don’t like this fog. You wonder what is real. You stare. Your eyes start leaking tears. You’re really trying but you can’t think. You want to think. You want to concentrate. But you stare. You cry.

“ ~~You’re okay.~~ ”

Someone is sitting next to you. You look at him. You can’t remember what he looks like. You’re staring at his profile. There’s a hole in his head. He turns to look at you. He’s still smiling. Black eyes. Blood tears. “ ~~You’re okay, don’t worry.~~ ”

You still worry. You don’t like this. You try to get up and run. You can’t muster the effort. It feels like you’re drowning in gray fog. You keep crying.

“ ~~Hey, don’t do that.~~ ” He grabs your face with one hand and starts brushing your tears away. It doesn’t help. His nails are leaving scratches on your skin. They shouldn’t be that sharp. Hands shouldn’t be black and dead-looking. “ ~~There’s not going to be any crying here. Okay? Do you understand?~~ ”

You don’t. You try to shake your head. You stare. You wonder. You want to be able to think. You’re tired. He’s still smiling.

“ ~~Well, it’s gonna take time to learn how to not do that~~ ,” he says. “ ~~So I guess that’s okay. But we need to start somewhere. So I want you to do something for me. Can you smile?~~ ”

You don’t want to. You’re trembling.

“ ~~Aw, come on, you didn’t even try.~~ ” He holds your head, a hand on each side. You’re staring into his dead, soulless eyes. You’re staring at that stretched, manic grin. “ ~~You should smile more. People like it when you do. So _smile for me._~~ ”

It’s easier to listen to someone else. Easier than trying to grab scattered thoughts. Easier than trying to force them together. So you smile.

“There we are!” His grows wider. “ ~~That’s good. You’re good. And you’re going to be a good friend. You can go to sleep now. I’ll see you later.~~ ”

Dizziness overtakes you. Your vision fades to black before your head even hits your chest.


	2. Curtains Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One evening, a magic show is interrupted and thrown into chaos. Luckily, the local vigilante is there to take care of things, though he's not expecting the magician to have REAL magic.

The final trick of the magic show left the audience gasping in awe. Fantastic acts of illusion, of blue firefly lights that hovered above their heads, of water that seemed to float and dance in the hair. The masked magician swept his top hat off his head and bowed as the crowd applauded and roared. “Thank you, thank you, you’re too kind!” he said cheerfully, the mic pinned to his tuxedo picking up his voice easily and broadcasting it over the audience’s heads. “It’s time for our intermission now, so please, take ten minutes to get refreshments, use the facilities, and give your children time to stretch their legs. I promise I’ll still be here when you return. Thank you, and have a good evening!” With one final bow, the velvet curtains swept closed.

The magician pulled his mask up so it rested on top of his hair. It was made in the masquerade style, white with purple markings, and a blue outline of a star in the center of its forehead. He rubbed his eyes as the stage crew rushed about, making sure nothing happened to the stage decorations in the first thirty minutes of the show. Hour-long magic shows didn’t usually have an intermission, but the magician felt it was best for him, so that he had time to recharge out of the crowd’s eye.

Speaking of the intermission, he had someone he want to check on. He replaced his top hat but not his mask, and exited stage left. He dodged around scurrying stage crew in black until he found who it was he wanted to see. A man in a brown suit jacket with a green vest underneath, leaning on a wooden cane, was chatting with the stage manager, Darla. The magician strolled up to the pair of them, and the man looked over at him.

“Hello Jems!” The man said with a smile. “The show’s goin’ well so far. I watched it all on the tiny television. You did a good job wit’ t’at last one!”

Jameson Jackson grinned back. Marvin knew he’d been having trouble with that one, so it was good to hear that encouragement. JJ turned to Darla and pointed to the door leading from the backstage area to the dressing room hallway.

“Yes, you should be good to leave,” Darla said. She’d been working with Jameson long enough to interpret him easily when he went silent. “Just be back about a minute before the intermission ends.”

JJ nodded in understanding, then turned to Marvin with a question. “Yes, yes, ‘m comin’,” Marvin said. He shifted his weight off the cane and into a better walking position. “Lead the way.”

The two of them exited the backstage area and entered the warren of hallways the venue had for storage and rooms for the visiting performers to stay. It was low-lit, with gray-blue carpet and matching wallpaper. “How’s everything going for you so far?” JJ asked. “Good first impression of what goes on behind the scenes of the shows?”

“Oh, it’s been grand s’far,” Marvin replied. “Not much has changed from back in the day. Still busy worker bees rushin’ around. Y’even have cameras! And they’re so much better!”

JJ laughed. “Technology has made leaps and bounds. They didn’t have live video back then, did they?”

“They had television,” Marvin said defensively. “But it was a new invention. I’d never t’ink of filming t'at was—was at the same time! Wonderful!” The note of excitement in his voice was evident.

“Well, glad you’re having fun.” Jameson gave Marvin a quick one-armed squeeze. “But now, I must do as I told the audience to and get a snack. I burned up a lot of magic onstage.”

“Oh! I’ll join you! If t’at’s okay.”

“No problem, my friend. After all, you don’t have money on you, remember?”

“Ah. T'at would be a problem.”

The foyer of the venue was crowded with audience members, most of them looking to be in their 30′s or 40′s, going about their business. Getting concessions, disappearing into the bathrooms, making calls on their phones. A lot of them recognized the magician as he came out. Jameson braced himself as he saw them approaching, politely listening to their chatter with a smile and a nod, but no words. Marvin glared at them, edging in between JJ and the spectators. The crowd quickly caught on not to bother JJ, unless they wanted to have his prickly friend shooting daggers of death at them from his eyes.

“Thanks,” JJ whispered under his breath as the two of them approached the concessions stand.

“Why d’you even do these shows if you hate the crowds?” Marvin asked.

“It’s not a problem when they’re far away,” JJ shrugged. “Or when there are too many to look at at once. The problem is in conversation. And besides, why would I _not_ do the shows? That would deprive people of this…this wonder! And amazement! You can hear it in their cheers. No matter their problems or unhappiness, they can find some excitement for just a little.”

Marvin shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Only you woul’ say t'at. But I t'ink some of these people need to learn some manners.” He glared at someone. “T’at man there has been lurkin’ in the corner t’is whole time and starin’ at ev’ryone.”

JJ glanced over to the man in question. He was tall and pretty well-built, dressed in a dark suit and standing ramrod-straight with his arms folded. “He’s fine, some people just don’t like to chat.” But if Jameson was being honest, the man was giving him an odd vibe. He shook it off and asked, “So, what treat do you want anyway?”

Marvin didn’t respond. His gaze has switched to the opposite end of the foyer. “There’s another one over there,” he said, faintly surprised. “Wearin’ the same getup and ev'rything.” He glanced around. “There’s more of them. Quite a lot, actu’lly.” All of a sudden, he grabbed Jameson’s arm. “Jems, I t’ink they’re up to no good.”

Jameson gave some of the men Marvin had pointed out a once-over. It was a bit…odd that all of these men were dressed similarly, built similarly, and standing around the edge of the crowd in a similar manner. As he watched, one of them reached inside his suit jacket…

“Marvin!” Jameson squeaked. “We have to get out of here!” He grabbed and tried to pull him away, but he was going too fast and Marvin stumbled, falling into him.

“Jems? What’s happen—”

_BANG!_

The loud sound of a gunshot rang throughout the venue. One person screamed, and then the crowd started to panic, scattering like rats faced with a hungry cat. In turn, the men in suits fired more shots into the air, pointing the muzzles of their guns at fleeing audience members. “Nobody move!” One of the men shouted. “Nobody’s gonna leave this room unless they want a bullet in their brain!” The crowd stopped trying to leave the foyer and instead clustered in the center.

The man who’d spoken, presumably the leader, presumably marked by the fact that he was the only one wearing a blue tie instead of a black one, yelled again. “All of you, line up against the walls! Sit down! Any sudden moves get fired at. Now!” The crowd hurried to comply.

Marvin and Jameson ended up pressed against the wall near the concessions stand, sitting huddled on the floor. Marvin looked over at his friend with wide eyes. “Ar’ya alrigh’?” he whispered.

JJ nodded. “They weren’t shooting people. But they might.” He shuddered. “Why is this happening? This can’t have anything to do with the show.”

The group of suited men were now in the center of the room, talking among themselves. Jameson narrowed his eyes at them. He muttered some words, and small wisps of blue light curled briefly around his head. Suddenly, the words of the suited men were as clear as if he’d been standing next to him.

“—the police, tell them about the…heh, situation.”

“And don’t forget to mention the demands this time.”

“Or the hostages.”

“Okay, okay, jeez, I get it. One mistake, and you’re branded for the rest of your life.”

“Well, this is the most people we got, most of them rich bastards, so there’s a bit less of a chance for error and a bit more of a chance for a bigger payday we can’t afford to mess up.”

Jameson subtly shook his head to clear the spell away. He leaned a bit closer to Marvin. “Sounds like they’re hoping to get the police to give them something. And so they’re keeping hostages to make sure their demands are met.”

“And t’at’s us?” Marvin’s grip on his cane tightened. “How’re we goin’ t’get outta t’is?”

“I…don’t know. Maybe we can just wait for the police to take care of things.”

“Who’s talking?” The leader of the gang turned around, eyes sweeping the room. “This is your only warning: no more talking, or we might start to feel the room’s a little crowded.”

Dead silence. Marvin and JJ exchanged looks of fear.

* * *

_All units: we have a hostage situation at the Orchester. I repeat, hostage situation at the Orchester. At least 100 patrons are trapped along with an unknown number of crew. Suspects are armed._

“Volt, you suddenly went quiet. You okay?”

Schneep shook his head. Maybe listening to the police scanner while also trying to have a phone call with Jackie was not a good idea. “Yes, I am fine,” he said. “I just got something interesting on the scanner.”

“Wouldn’t happen to do with the gang that’s threatening the local theatre, would it?”

“Ah…” Schneep coughed uncomfortably. “How do you know that?”

“Rama just turned on the news,” Jackie explained, referencing the name of his spouse. “Anyway, Volt, don’t you dare go check that out.”

“Why not?” Schneep asked, almost whining. “I am already out on patrol. There are people who need help. Seems like easy equation.”

“Well, last time you went out, you basically collapsed of smoke inhalation!” Jackie said sharply. “You barely made it to my house in time! And you’re still recovering, you shouldn’t even have gone out!”

“I am fine, it should not be too difficult.” Schneep was already making his way through the city streets in the direction of the theatre.

“It shouldn’t be—you are _one guy_ going against a gang of _multiple armed people._ C’mon, dude. You know I’m okay with this in general, but I also don’t want you to die! Let the police take care of this.”

“Sorry, Jackie, I am passing through a tunnel, you are breaking up.”

“Don’t pull that shit on me, Volt, I know you parkour.”

“What? I—kssh—cannot—kssh—hear you I have—kssh—hang—kssh—up.” And with no further words, Schneep hung up on Jackie and tucked the phone into the hidden pocket inside his suit. He was so lucky he wasn’t too far from the Orchester theatre. If he ran, he should be able to make it in a few minutes.

And indeed he did. The place had cops on all sides, which was unfortunate, seeing as how the police weren’t the biggest fan of him. They didn’t look too kindly on vigilantes who ran around with homemade gadgets that were usually much more useful than whatever they had. He’d have to be clever. Luckily, there seemed to be a weak spot in the police’s blockade near the side alley, a stretch where they’d only stationed one officer, who was currently sitting in his car drinking coffee from a thermos. Schneep slipped past him easily, and after a bit of slinking around the edge, he found a side door and slid inside.

* * *

The hostages had been trapped inside for an hour. An hour of absolute silence and stillness, watching the gang and the guns they carried. Nobody had managed to get away, not even the stage crew. Apparently the gang had sent members backstage to make sure there was no chance of letting anyone get away.

Marvin and JJ were uncomfortable, to say the very least. And Jameson was started to wonder if there was more he could be doing to help the situation. The problem was that most of his spells were incantation-based, and he didn’t know if he wanted to risk the gang hearing him. He also wasn’t sure if trying out a spell would even help, or if it would just make everything worse.

He was interrupted from his internal debate by Marvin tapping him on the arm. When he gave him a confused look, Marvin carefully and subtly pointed to the balcony with his cane. Jameson turned his attention toward it. The balcony was supposed to lead to the…well, balcony seats, as well as have a few shortcuts for the lighting crew. Nobody was up there, as the gang had forced everyone down to the ground level. Except…somebody _was_ up there, crouching and staring through the railing at the gang below. He was wearing a long gray coat, a blue belt, and blue gloves. A black mask covered the lower half of his face.

Wait…Jameson remembered seeing that outfit on the news. It was that vigilante, Voltage or something like that. JJ’s head whipped back toward Marvin with wide eyes. Marvin shrugged, confused.

They both watched as the vigilante stood up, and with absolutely no warning leaped over the railing and right off the balcony. Amazingly, he landed on his feet, and seemed to be perfectly fine despite a fall from that height being enough to at the very least snap an ankle. “You people are ruining a perfectly good night at the theatre!” he shouted.

Immediately, every single member of the gang turned toward him, guns raised. “Shoot him!” the leader cried.

But Voltage was already moving before the command was even given. The bullets riddled the wall where he’d just been standing, following him across the room. The hostages sitting around the edges screamed, shrinking closer to the ground. “Stay down, all of you!” Voltage shouted, clearly aimed at the hostages. He was now standing next to a large brass pot holding a plant. He kicked it, and it flew across the room much faster than it should have, hurling toward the gang, most of whom scattered.

“I told you to shoot him!” the leader yelled. “Where’d he go?!”

Voltage hadn’t gone anywhere. He’d just followed the path of the pot right into the center of the gang. He grabbed the nearest man from behind. There was a _zap,_ and an arc of blue-white electricity came from Voltage’s gloves. The man fell to the ground, unconscious. Voltage instantly ducked, avoiding a hail of bullets and causing some of the gang members to shoot each other. He launched himself across the floor and grabbed another by the legs, shocking him unconscious too.

There were still too many. Jameson counted. Fifteen left, but four of those had been shot and were clutching their torsos where the wounds were, pretty much out of commission. So eleven left. That was too much. Voltage was good, but it was only through sheer luck that he hadn’t been shot yet. Jameson’s mind whirled, thoughts fueled by adrenaline. He had to do something.

The gang was focused on Voltage, still somehow surviving. Jameson stood up, and crept a bit closer to the fray, hoping to not be noticed. “Jems!” Marvin hissed. “Are you mad?!” When JJ didn’t bother to answer, Marvin growled and started crawling after him.

Jameson took a deep breath, and pulled his mask down onto his face. “Ixáplose, lakoi’vai,” he whispered, kneeling and touching the ground with his fingertips. A puddle of blue magic crept out from the spots where his fingers touched, spreading rapidly across the floor, heading straight for the conflict. Once the puddle reached the men’s feet, they slipped. One by one, falling and crashing to the ground. Except for Voltage, who was standing in the middle of the magic puddle perfectly alright, if shocked. His eyes followed the path of the puddle back to its source, and even under the mask JJ could see the surprise and shock on his face.

Still, Voltage recognized an opportunity, and by the time the remaining members of the gang had gotten to their feet and scrambled away from the puddle, another seven had been shocked to unconsciousness. “What the fuck?!” shouted one of the men.

The leader did the same thing Voltage did and followed the magic’s path. “You!” he roared. “I don’t know what the fuck you did, but you’ll pay!” He raised his gun.

JJ dove to the side, managing to avoid getting killed, though he felt a streak of pain, and looked down to see the bullet had grazed his arm. He scrambled back to his feet, gasping out a basic shield spell just in time for bullets to ricochet oft the sudden blue icy barrier. He closed his eyes, simply concentrating on keeping the shield up. He heard what was happening: more gunshots, more shouting, more footsteps, more electric zaps.

Until: “Stop right there, or I swear I’ll blow his brains out!”

The room went silent. JJ opened his eyes to see that all the gang members had been knocked out except for three and the leader. Voltage was standing, frozen, in the middle of the room, staring at the leader and—Jameson felt his heart stop. The shield spell flickered and died. “Marvin!” he gasped.

The gang leader was holding Marvin close to him with one arm, and holding a gun to the side of his head with the other. Marvin himself only looked sort of annoyed, but Jameson knew him well enough to see the way his hands were trembling, holding his cane tight for comfort. The leader turned to look at Jameson. “This a friend of yours, huh?” he sneered. “Well, get back to where you’re supposed to be and stop this freaky shit, and he’ll be fine.”

“Do not tell him what to do!” Voltage yelled. JJ was faintly surprised at the accent in his voice. “I thought your fight was with me!”

“Well, you too,” the leader shrugged. “Leave this place, and nobody gets hurt. Or you can take off your shocky gloves and join the others around the wall, I’m not too picky.”

Voltage laughed dryly. “Ah yes, your one redeeming quality. You think I will just leave all these people here?!”

“I dunno, it’s kinda hard to tell with—”

The leader didn’t get to finish his sentence. Marvin had adjusted the way he was holding the cane, and then slammed the end of it down into the leader’s foot. He yelped, and his grip loosened just enough for Marvin to pull away and land sprawling on the floor. “You little—” the leader didn’t get to finish that one either, or finish aiming the gun at Marvin like he’d started to, because all of a sudden a shard of blue magic came flying out of nowhere and hit him in the head. He stumbled, and looked around as if he’d forgotten what he was doing. This entire sequence was just long enough for Voltage to charge forward and zap the leader out cold.

Voltage spun around and glared at the three remaining gang members. “Well?” he demanded. The men dropped their guns and raised both hands in the air. “That’s what I thought. Kick those away from you.” They did so. Voltage nodded once, then addressed the room at large. “I will open the front doors in a moment. I advise you all to leave once that happens. And do not be afraid to relax now.” Gradually, the crowd began chattering again. Voltage began kicking all the gang members’ guns into a little pile, occasionally shooting glares at the ones remaining conscious.

JJ rushed forward, kneeling next to Marvin. “Marvin! Are you okay?!”

“I’m fuckin’ fantastic. Got t’reatened to end up in the ground, gave a man the stomp, then he got bumped in the head after his whole gang got a beatin’, and now me legs stopped workin’. Average day.”

Jameson laughed. Yep, Marvin was fine. “Good to hear it. Need some help?”

“N…possibly.” Marvin let JJ grab him by the hand and help him up, though he stumbled and ended up leaning on JJ much more than he wanted to.

Voltage walked over to the two of them. “You are okay?” he asked.

“We’re fine,” JJ said with a quavery smile. “Thank you for all your help.”

“It is no problem. I am just doing what is the right thing. But usually…” he gave Jameson a scan with his eyes. “…Usually in these situations I do not meet someone who can do things like that.”

“Oh, ah…” JJ laughed nervously. “I’m sorry, I can’t really explain it. It’s just…something I’ve been born with. Magic, that is.”

“Hmm…” Voltage put his hands on his hips. “I did not think magic was real, but after this…”

“It’s not your beeswax, Mister Voltage,” Marvin growled, giving the hero a prompt whack on the shoulder with his cane topper. Unfortunately, that meant he suddenly lost a support to lean on, and he fell onto JJ, who stumbled before regaining his balance.

“Excuse me, that is Von Voltage.” The words were lacking the snap they were probably intended to have. Voltage was too busy watching JJ struggle to keep Marvin upright. “You did not get your little legs injured during this whole thing, did you?”

“Wh—no,” Marvin said, looking mildly offended. “This is an…unrelated issue. I’ve dealt with it for a long time, nothin’ you need t’concern with.”

Voltage gave him a skeptical look. Then he reached inside a coat and pulled out a phone. Apparently those gloves of his were able to interact with the touch screen just fine. “Well, if that is the case, I am going to give you a phone number. It is not one you have to use, but if you ever need a good doctor I have a friend who would love to assist.”

“I don’ have a phone,” Marvin muttered.

“But it’s okay, because I do.” Jameson awkwardly rummaged around one-handed in his pockets before pulling out said phone. “What’s the number and the name?”

He quickly typed in the number Voltage recited. “His name is Dr. Jackie Parker,” the hero explained. “Is a very good doctor, and I know he will not turn away a person in need.”

“Ah…thank you,” Marvin said quietly. He looked a little shocked at the turn of events. Jameson hoped he would actually consider contacting the doctor. Marvin was one of the most stubborn people he knew, and he didn’t want that to impact his health.

“Is no problem,” Voltage waved it off. “And now, if you excuse me, I am going to open the front doors real quick and then leave right after. Police are not too fond of me.” And with that, he strolled away.

JJ looked at Marvin, who was still basically putting all his weight on him. “Do you want to stand up or sit down.”

“I can—I can stand.” With some effort and the help of his cane, Marvin managed to regain his balance. “T’is has cert’inly been…a night.”

“Tell me about it. Probably my most eventful show, though not in a good way. I do hope that not a lot of people saw what was going on with the magic. Hopefully the police will attribute it to shock. They’re also going to want to check you for shock too, given the whole gun thing.”

“Shock? I don’ understand. Von Voltage didn’ touch me.”

Jameson paused. “No, like…like shellshock? That was a thing back then, right?”

“Ohhhh.”

“They’ll probably give you one of those shock blankets.”

“I get a free blanket?!” Marvin looked oddly excited at the prospect.

JJ laughed. “No, no, you don’t get to keep it. It’s property of the police.”

“Aw.” Marvin glanced over to the front entrance of the venue. “The doors are openin’. Ready to face the world?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Come on, let’s go outside finally.”

* * *

“Volt…” Jackie sounded exhausted on the other end. “I can’t believe you actually did that.”

Schneep, watching the police scene around the theatre from on top of a nearby rooftop, sighed. “Well, you would not expect better of me, would you?”

“I really shouldn’t, but I always do. How’s your breathing? The lingering effects of the smoke didn’t bother you?”

“Ah, a little bit of tightness, but I am fine.”

“If I ever find out you’re lying, you do realize I’m going to strap you to your bed and force you to rest.”

“Well, I do now.” Schneep fell silent for a moment, watching the former hostages being helped and talked to by the cops. “I saw…the most unusual thing tonight, Jackie. I do not know how else to describe it than…magical.”

“Really?” Jackie asked, intrigued.

“Also I gave someone your phone number.”

“What?!” Now Jackie sounded less intrigued and more mad. “Henrik, for the love of god. Not only is that a bad idea because of the general ‘don’t give phone numbers to strangers’ rule, but also whoever it is now knows you’re somehow connected to me!”

“Trust me Jackie, the two of them are good people. And they…seemed in need of a bit of help.” Though that one in the jacket and vest also seemed pretty obstinate. “Now, do you want to hear about this magic I saw or should I show up at your house in full Von Voltage gear and give your family a heart attack?”

“Michelle would be excited to know her honorary uncle is a real live superhero,” Jackie said thoughtfully. “But yeah, Rama would freak out. So, tell me the story of what happened.”

“You are going to want to sit down for this one,” Schneep said, grinning.

And as the evening faded completely into night, a new life dawned on the four who’d been touched that day. None of them knew where it was heading, but they all knew things would never be the same again.


	3. House Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a normal day for Jackie, and then he gets a call from a Jameson Jackson. After the situation is explained, Jackie lets JJ and Marvin come over to his house, ready to help.

Jackie didn’t consider himself smart. Sure, he was able to get through medical school easily enough, but he wasn’t a surgeon or a specialist or anything complicated, just a general practitioner. That didn’t require too much book smarts to become, did it? And besides, there were plenty of areas where he had no idea what he was doing. That became evident when he tried to use Rama’s computer to play a video and ended up somehow entirely breaking the thing. He tried for half an hour to figure out what happened before giving in and calling a friend.

“So, uh…” Jackie bounced nervously, standing next to the desk in the study. “Is it, like, completely useless now, or…?”

The guy sitting at the desktop computer didn’t look up at him. He didn’t look like what most people imagined programmers to be like. He wore a black jacket and ripped black jeans, and his brown hair had a streak of green and a streak of black running through it. His eyes were two different colors: green on his right and blue on his left. “Yeah, completely useless,” he said casually. “You broke it all.”

“What?! You can’t be serious!”

“Dead serious. Gonna have to scrap the whole CPU.”

“But Rama has so much saved on here! We can’t just throw it all out! So much of their work is gonna go to waste—wait a second.” Jackie’s eyes narrowed. It seemed the programmer was biting back a smile. Jackie scowled, giving him a hearty shove. “Oh, very funny, Anti. Congratulations, you gave me a heart attack.”

“How many times are you gonna fall for that?” Anti asked through laughter.

“Well, it looks like every time at this point. Now give me the actual news.”

Anti calmed down, reentering his serious mode. “I dunno how it happened, but you somehow caught a virus on here. Not seriously harmful, but still nasty. Gimme a few more minutes, I should be able to root it out. Hopefully it hasn’t corrupted anything beside your browser, gonna have to reinstall that.”

“Oh. That’s good, I guess?” At least it was salvageable. “Do you…need anything?”

“Uh…” Anti looked over to where Jackie was hovering over his shoulder. “I need you to stop being a fucking helicopter.”

Jackie leaned back, taking a few steps away. “Alright, calm your boots. I’ll just go stand in the corner, Blair Witch style. Don’t mind m—”

His snarky remark was cut off once he felt a vibration in his hoodie pocket. He dug around inside and pulled out his phone, a number he didn’t recognize onscreen. He frowned, then tentatively accepted the call. “Hello?”

For a moment, there was nothing. Until: “Hello! You wouldn’t happen to be Dr. Parker, would you?”

“This is him.” Jackie absolutely did not recognize the faintly posh British voice, yet it somehow sounded familiar. Maybe it reminded him of one of his friends’ voices.

Anti leaned back in the study’s swivel chair. “Hey, you mind taking that outside? Concentration, and all.”

Jackie made an okay sign, then left the study, leaning against the wall in the hallway outside. While he was moving, the person on the other side continued to talk. “Right. Um, my name is Jameson Jackson. I don’t know if he told you about me, but, uh, I got this number from a friend of yours. He told me to call you if we were ever in need of a doctor.”

“Wait, you’re the guy who Volt saw do real magic, right?” The incident had happened about a week and a half ago, and ever since then, Schneep would not stop bringing it up. As to be expected, when you discovered that something you thought was impossible was, in fact, possible. “I saw the whole thing on the news, too. Isn’t your stage name, like, Jazzy, or something like that?”

That prompted a sudden burst of laughter on the other end. “Jazzy!” Jameson repeated lightly. “Maybe I should have used that. No, it’s actually the Jaunty Jackson. Adjectives starting with J are scarce.”

“I see,” Jackie nodded. “So, what’s the problem? I mean, you wouldn’t be calling a number that a superhero gave you and told you it was for a doctor if you didn’t need…well, a doctor.”

“Oh, right, the problem. Well you see—” Jameson suddenly stopped. Jackie could faintly hear another voice on the other end, sounding a bit snappish. Then Jameson’s voice said something, sounding like he’d covered the phone with his hand. Jackie thought it was along the lines of “Shut your mouth and let me help you.” Then, Jameson returned. “Sorry about that. Anyway, the problem is that a friend of mine has had a bit of an…issue, a health issue, for a long time. It hasn’t really been looked at, but I thought that, since today is one of the bad ones, that it was about time we got around to that. You wouldn’t mind, would you?”

“No, of course not.” Jackie was already mentally reviewing the possibilities. “I’m not in my office right now, but can you come over here if I give you my address?”

“Oh. You can’t…come over here?”

“I mean, technically I could. But my spouse is out for once and they’d kill me if I left our daughter without supervision.” Anti didn’t count. He could leave at any minute.

On the other end of the line, there was what sounded like a discussion. A few moments passed. “Alright, where’s your address?” Jameson finally asked. Upon Jackie giving it to him, he said, “Oh good, that’s pretty close. We’ll be there in…hmm, fifteen minutes.”

“Alright. Just ring the doorbell, I’ll answer.”

“Understood. Thank you very much, Dr. Parker.”

“Eh, just call me Jackie. Everyone does. And no problem.”

“Thank you very much, Jackie. We’ll be there soon.” And with that, he hung up.

At that moment, two small children raced past Jackie, screaming. One of them, a taller boy with curly red hair and freckles, attached himself to Jackie’s leg. “Uncle Jackie, help!” he said. “She’s prosecuting me!”

The other child, a younger girl with black hair and eyes, skidded to a halt and whirled around, making the blanket tied around her neck fly in a nice _whoosh._ “I’m no-ot!” she yelled. “Dad, he stole the treasure of the Bed Plateau! He needs to pay for his crimes! In the Bedroom jail!”

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “Really? Well, I can’t help a thief. But I don’t _see_ any treasure. Are you _sure_ you’re not persecuting him, Michelle?”

Michelle stomped her foot. “It’s in his pocket!”

“No, it’s not! You don’t know that!” The boy said, still holding on to Jackie’s leg.

“Well, Will,” Jackie said patiently. “I guess I have to ask you to…turn out your pockets! Show me you don’t have anything to hide!”

Will froze for a moment, then shoved himself away from Jackie and resumed his sprinting, shouting “You’ll never take me aliiiiiiive!”

“Face justice!” Michelle shouted, running after him.

Jackie shook his head, smiling, then peeked back into the study. Anti was still glued to the computer screen, now frowning. “Hey, how’s it goin’ in here?”

“Worse than I thought it would be,” Anti replied, clicking through files on the desktop. “This is gonna take…a lot longer than I thought. Might be here for a while.”

“Okay. But just to let you know, some people are coming over in a bit under fifteen minutes.”

“Really?” The word was half surprise, half groan. “Who? Some of Rama’s friends? Repair people?”

“Well, remember those two guys who Volt gave my phone number to for if they ever needed help? One of them just called me.”

“The magician and his assistant. Got it. Tell me when they leave.”

Jackie sighed. “You need more than two people to talk to, Anti.”

“Does Will count?” Anti glanced away from the screen for the first time. “How’s he doin’, by the way? Playing nice with Michelle?”

“He just stole her Beanie Baby,” Jackie said. “But I think that’s so Michelle can play defender of the bedroom. Nice of him.”

“Good.” Anti turned back to the computer. “Can you, uh, make sure neither of them get hurt while I work on this?”

“Of course, dude. I’ll shout for you if anything bad happens.”

Fifteen minutes later, the two kids had stopped playing defender of the bedroom and were now spread out on the living room carpet, surrounded by markers and crayons and doodling on pads of paper. Jackie was lying on the sofa, watching. And then the doorbell rang and he went on high alert. “I think that’s the visitors I told you about,” he said to the kids, standing up. “You two want to go somewhere else or stay?”

“We’ll go in the dining room,” Will said, already gathering the drawing materials. “Finish in there. Michelle, are you okay with that or do you want to stay?”

“Uh-huh! It’s hard to draw on carpet anyway. Let’s go.” And the two of them left.

“Don’t forget to listen and ask for me if anything’s wrong! And don’t jump off the table again!” That would very much lead to one of them getting hurt. Jackie sighed. Maybe he should’ve kept them in here, but too late now. He sighed, and made his way over to the front door, swinging it open. “Hello! You must be Mr. Jackson and his friend, right? Come in, come in.”

“Oh! Yes, that’s us, thank you.” The pair of them walked right inside. Even though Schneep had given Jackie descriptions of them after the incident at the theatre, he still took a moment to examine them. The one who’d spoken was dressed in a purple button-down shirt, and had a thick black mustache. The other one was wearing a brown jacket and vest, like he’d stepped out of another era, and was carrying a wooden cane. The latter was leaning heavily on the former (and trying his best to look like he wasn’t), and the moment the two of them were inside they made a beeline for the couch. The one in the jacket immediately sat down with a faint expression of relief.

“Right, well, I’m Jameson, as you probably recognize from my voice,” said the one still standing. “And this is Marvin.”

“Pleasure t’meet ya,” Marvin said, nodding. He held out a hand.

“Nice to meet you too.” Jackie shook the offered hand. “Can I get you anything?”

Both of them shook their heads in unison.

“Alright. So. What’s the problem?”

Marvin scowled. “It’s not a _problem_ , per se.”

“Yes it is,” Jameson muttered.

“Jems, lemme speak f’r myself, thank you.” Marvin turned his attention back to Jackie. “Y’see, when I was a little lad, I got very sick. I recovered, obviously, but not without some…after effects.”

“Ah.” Jackie sat down in the nearest armchair. Meanwhile, Jameson took a seat next to Marvin on the sofa. “Like what?”

Marvin folded his arms. “Bas’clly, me legs weren’t ever the same again. Walking can be…difficult.”

“How so? Does it hurt, or does it just take a lot of effort?”

“The second one. The more I stand and walk, the harder it gets. And It changes ev’ry so often, some days bein’ worse than others. But it’s nothin’ I can’ handle. Jems is just overreactin’.”

“Yes, exactly, I was overreacting when I found you sprawled in the middle of the upstairs hallway, claiming you were just ‘taking a break,’” Jameson drawled.

“Yes, you were.”

“And I was overreacting when you had to call me to help you down the stairs, then stumbled into the front room and immediately sat down without eating breakfast or anything, which is an important part of your daily routine.”

“Yep.”

“And I was overreacting when I had to support you getting into the car, then practically pull you up the path to this front door.”

“Exactly,” Marvin nodded resolutely.

Jameson threw his hands up into the air. “Dr. Parker. Jackie. In your professional opinion, is this a problem?”

Jackie pursed his lips. “Most people would consider it one.”

“Look, I’ve had worse days,” Marvin waved it off. “If I can still walk, it’s fine. And last time we tried to go to one of these doctors, they tried to put me in a wheeled chair, which I _def’nitely_ don’ need.”

“I wasn’t about to say that you do,” Jackie said calmly. “Look, you sound like you’re doing okay for the most part. But if, maybe, I could help you make things a little easier, would you listen?”

Marvin looked over at Jameson, who was giving him a pointed look. “…prob’ly,” he mumbled.

“Alright. Well then, first things first, do you remember what got you sick as a kid? I need to know so I can get a general idea of what’s up.”

“Oh. Yeah, I remember it.”

The moment Marvin told him, Jackie’s mouth dropped open. “You’re sure about that?”

“Yes.” Marvin gave him a confused look. “Why?”

“There hasn’t been a case of that in thirty years.”

“Oh.” Marvin and Jameson exchanged looks again. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s been basically wiped out. You’re sure that’s what it was?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Marvin sighed, already sounding exhausted.

“Alright.” Jackie decided to store this information away for a later date. It wasn’t the point right now. But later, he was one hundred percent going to call these two again and talk about how, exactly, that could have happened. “Well, I guess we’re moving on. Now, I guess the number one question is to ask you what you want to be able to do. And if there’s anything that you definitely don’t want to happen. Obviously, you already talked about the wheelchair scenario, but is there anything else?”

Marvin narrowed his eyes, obviously suspicious. “Really? T'at’s it?”

Jackie shrugged. “I mean, I _could_ technically tell you what you should be doing, but a lot of times doctors that just tell don’t really take into account the patient’s wishes. And especially in cases like this, dealing with chronic pain and fatigue, they try their best to fix everything through any means, and they don’t really think about maybe some things can’t be fixed. So, tell me what you want to happen and I’ll give you advice on how to accomplish it.”

Marvin whistled, and put his chin in his hands. “Well…Jems has his shows. I wouldn’ mind bein’ able to…the last show I was backstage for the first time, and they don’ have anyplace to sit there. I was lucky it was a better day, but…you get what I’m gettin’ at, yes?”

The whole visit didn’t take any longer than ten minutes. Ten minutes of just talking, with Marvin listing things that had bothered him and Jackie offering ways to make doing those things just a little bit easier. Jameson watched the whole thing, sort of in awe at what was happening. He hadn’t seen Marvin this open with someone else in…well, in all the time he’d known him. Sure, he was still doing his stubborn thing and insisting he could handle some things that JJ wasn’t sure he actually could, but the fact that he was listening was already an improvement. There must’ve been something about Jackie’s casual attitude and clear willingness to help that was helping him put his guard down.

“Is there anything else?” Jackie finally asked.

“No, I t’ink t’at’s all,” Marvin replied. JJ wasn’t sure he was being honest about that, but there’d already been a lot of sharing, and maybe he was starting to reach his limit. Now the question was just how much of the advice he was actually going to listen to and how much he was going to discard in favor of “I can do it, see?”

“Hey, Jackie, I finally fixed the—oh.” Another man had walked into the front room from deeper into the house, then instantly stopped in his tracks the moment he saw there were still other people in the front room.

“…oh, that’s good to hear,” Jackie said, breaking the long, awkward pause. “Um, Anti, this is Jameson and Marvin. I told you they were coming, remember?”

“Yyyeah,” Anti said slowly. “Hey, where are the kids?”

“In the dining room.”

“I’ll go check on them. Will and I need to leave soon anyway.” He turned and quickly walked right back out.

Jameson stared at the spot he’d been standing, then looked right back at Jackie. “What…who was that?”

“Oh, that was Anti,” Jackie explained. “He’s a friend of mine. Good with computers, so when ours broke, I called him over to see if he could fix it. Apparently he just did.”

“He’s a…bit strange, isn’t he?” Marvin asked. “With t’at unusual name, and the hair and eye color.”

“Well, he dyes his hair, and he has heterochromia, meaning he was born with two differently colored eyes. But Anti isn’t his name.”

“Really?” JJ asked. “Do you mind if I ask what the story is behind that, then? Or what his name is?”

“I mean, your guess is as good as mine,” Jackie shrugged. “I literally don’t think anyone knows what his name actually is. He’s insanely secretive about it, which only leads to more speculation, of course. He calls himself Anti ‘cause the name of his channel is antisepticeye.”

“His what?” Marvin repeated.

“Y’know, his YouTube channel. He does let’s plays and walkthroughs, usually a lot of horror games. Sometimes he’ll throw a comedy bit in there. You should check it out, it’s pretty cool.”

“Maybe we will,” JJ said. Marvin didn’t look so sure.

Anti reentered the front room, the two kids trailing behind him, holding their drawings and the supplies. “Well, we _were_ about to leave,” he said, “but Will and Michelle wanted to show off their artwork.”

“Dad!” Michelle bounced forward, hoisting herself up onto Jackie’s lap. “Look! I chron’cled our adventures today!” She started showing off the pieces of paper, decorated in crayon.

“Wow, sweetie,” Jackie said, impressed. “They look really good! I guess we have more for the archives, don’t we?” That was what it was called when Michelle’s drawings ended up on the fridge.

Michelle beamed, then caught sight of Marvin and Jackie sitting on the sofa. “Oh! These are your new friends, right, Dad?” she asked. “Hi! I’m Michelle. Do you want to see my adventures?”

“Adventures? Why, yes, I would!” JJ said excitedly. “What sort of adventures are they?”

“I’ll show you!” Michelle bounded over to the sofa, managing to squeeze in right in between the two of them. She looked up at Will. “C’mon, don’t just stand there! Show Dad and Uncle Anti what you did too!”

“Oh.” Will shuffled his papers. “Well, I didn’t draw anything we did today. Just a lot of stuff that I thought was cool.”

Anti smiled for the first time that day. “More dinosaurs?”

“Yeah. A couple of them are.” He handed the drawings to Anti. “Like, there’s the one with the brontosaurus family that I really liked. But there’s a lot that are just stuff I saw.”

Anti flipped through the drawings. “Did you draw the shop we saw on the way here? That’s very good! Really looks like it.” His smile faded a bit when he reached the last drawing. “Wait, what’s this one?”

“What one?” Will poked up on tiptoes to see which picture Anti had come to. “Oh, that one. I had a weird dream last night. I woke up and saw someone in my room. We talked for a long time, and then I went back to sleep, and when I woke up he was gone.”

“…huh. Jackie, look at this.”

He passed the last picture over to Jackie, whose brows flew up into the air upon seeing it. “Will,” he said softly. “It wasn’t a nightmare, was it?”

“No, I wasn’t scared.”

“Are you sure? This looks kind of scary.”

“But he wasn’t scary. He was pretty nice, and he looked really happy. Or, I remember him looking happy a lot, I think.”

“Hey, can I see t’at?” Marvin didn’t know why the words had popped out of his mouth. He wasn’t even sure he said them until everyone looked his way.

Will shrugged. “Sure.” He took the drawing back from Jackie, then padded over and handed it to Marvin.

The drawing was of a stick figure drawn in gray marker, with squares standing in for clothes and shoes. Darker gray scribbles were done in marker over the stick figure’s head. On top of the scribbles, two black circle eyes and a curved smile mouth were drawn in crayon. The figure also appeared to be crying, but red crayon had been used for the tears. The background was various strokes and sketches done in black and gray crayon.

JJ leaned over to see the drawing. “That’s…a little unusual,” he said slowly. “But I suppose dreams are a little bit weird.”

“…t’s familiar,” Marvin muttered.

“What?”

“I said…never mind.” Marvin rubbed the back of his neck, where all the hairs had suddenly stood up. “I t’ink…maybe I had a dream like t’is once.” He was sure that wasn’t the answer. This felt almost like a memory he’d forgotten. But when would he have seen something like this? Sure, he’d grown used to seeing strange things ever since he’d moved in with a magician, but nothing even close to this. It was probably just his imagination.

Jameson narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t buying this one bit. But this wasn’t the time to get into it. “We can talk about it later,” he muttered.

Jackie and Anti, who’d been quietly talking among themselves, suddenly broke off. “Well, if you don’t need anything else to be fixed or hacked, I think it’s time for us to go,” Anti said. “Will still has homework.”

“It’s just math.” Will made a face. “I’m ahead in that.”

“But do you want to _stop_ being ahead in that? No. But at least it’s only one worksheet, and maybe we can…I dunno, get something special afterwards? It’s close to the end of the school year, after all.”

Will’s eyes lit up. “Alright, then!” He gathered up his drawings. “Bye Michelle.”

Michelle hopped down and gave Will a quick hug. “Bye, Will! I’m gonna put these in the archives now.” And with a skip, she rushed off to the kitchen.

“Oh hey, we’re still meeting at Schneep’s this Saturday, right?” Anti asked.

“Uh, unless he suddenly gets…‘injured on the job,’ yeah,” Jackie nodded. “In fact I was thinking…we could have even more people meet us there.”

“Really?” Anti folded his arms. “Who?”

Jackie’s eyes flicked over to where JJ and Marvin were still sitting on the couch. “Oh no,” JJ said. “No, we couldn’t possibly—this sounds like it’s your thing, we shouldn’t interfere with that.”

“No, it’s fine,” Jackie shrugged, adjusting his glasses. “It’s always good to meet more people. And besides, Anti needs more friends.”

“Wh—no, I don’t, I’m fine,” Anti insisted.

Jackie sighed. He looked over at JJ. “You know, sometimes I think he likes to be called Anti because he’s _anti_ social.”

“That wasn’t funny the first fifty times.”

“I mean…it woul’ be nice t’get outta the house,” Marvin said slowly. “Haven’ done t’at in a while.”

“So then, you should come!” Jackie said eagerly. “Get to know Schneep better, he’ll be happy to see you. He’s got a bit of a… _shocking_ personality, though.”

Anti rolled his eyes.

JJ bit his lip, thinking, then shrugged. “Alright. If you insist it wouldn’t be…intrusive in any way, we’ll come.”

“Yes!” Jackie smiled. “I promise you won’t regret it.” He turned to Anti. “And you won’t either. You’ll see.”

“Alright, fine, I’ll consider it,” Anti scowled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Will has been tugging on my jacket for the last minute, trying to get me to leave.”

Will self-consciously dropped his hand. “You talk a lot,” he said defensively.

“You’ll talk a lot when you’re a grown-up too. But don’t worry, we’re going now.” Anti opened the front door, turning around for one last goodbye. “See you later, Jackie.”

“See you, Anti. Remember: Saturday!”

“Yeah, I got it.” The door swung closed again.”

Jackie turned to JJ and Marvin. “Are you two ready to leave now too? Or would you like to stay some more?”

Marvin pushed to his feet, leaning on his cane. “I t’ink I’m ready to go now. Ah…thank you…for your help, doctor.”

“Jackie, remember. And it was no problem, I was glad to help. Need anything else?”

“No, I’m fine,” Marvin said.

JJ stood up. “Thank you for having us, Jackie.”

“You know, I’m still going to say no problem.” A smile quirked at the edge of Jackie’s mouth. “I’ll text you to remind you about the plan for Saturday. Give you the address. Oh, and lemme get the door for you right now.” Jackie reopened the door that Anti had previously closed.

“Thanks,” JJ said. “C’mon, Marvin. Goodbye, Jackie!”

“Goodbye you two! See you later!”

The moment the door had closed behind them and they were once again outside, JJ turned to Marvin. “What do you think? Good visit?”

Marvin considered this. “It was…certainly more helpful than I t’ought it woul’ be.” He paused. “Jems, would you…mind if I leaned on you for a bit?”

JJ smiled. “Not at all, Marvin.”


	4. Dull Dissociations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange things are happening to the group, first to Marvin and then Jackie. What—or who—is behind this?

JJ closed the front door behind him, immediately leaning against it and closing his eyes. Home again, home again. He’d been out most of the day, and he hated it. Sure, days like these were necessary, arranging shows and venues and meeting with various stage managers and agents, but they drained his energy quickly. Not to mention matters had been complicated when he originally left without a jacket since it was unusually warm when he left, and then a cold front had moved in and made everything worse by the time he’d driven home in the evening. And now, he really just wanted to take a nap.

“Marvin? I’m home.” What had been intended to be a call turned into a semi-loud awkward squeak. JJ cleared his throat and tried again. “Marvin? I’m home!”

No answer. That was…odd. The walls of the town house were not thick; even if Marvin was on the second floor, he should’ve at least been able to hear his voice, if not his words. JJ frowned. “Hey Marvin? Are you—well, I don’t know what you’d be doing that would be loud enough to not hear me. Unless you’ve finally stolen my headphones.”

He poked his head into the living room, which was where Marvin was usually sitting, in his claimed chair next to the fireplace. But it was empty. So were the kitchen and the dining room. He couldn’t have gone to bed already, could he? JJ decided it would be best to check. He climbed up the narrow stairs to the second floor, which was where the two bedrooms and the study were located.

The door to Marvin’s room was slightly ajar. JJ knocked on it anyway. “Marv? You’re in there, right?” There wasn’t even a “go away” in response. Now fully concerned, JJ pushed open the door wide enough to look inside. The room was dark, but from what he could see, there wasn’t any lump on the bed that would indicate Marvin might be asleep. So, JJ eased the door open further and flipped on the light switch by the door.

Marvin’s room was empty. And it looked fairly normal. Bed sloppily made, a stack of books on the desk in the corner. But there was one thing odd. Marvin’s jacket was on the floor.

JJ stared at it for a moment. Marvin never took off his jacket. Or, he did, but only when he was having his version of a lazy day. And when he took it off, he always hung it up in a closet or on a coat rack. In fact, JJ couldn’t remember ever seeing any of Marvin’s clothes just lying on the floor. The sight was setting off tiny alarm bells in his head.

Something must have happened. But what? And where was Marvin? If he’d gone somewhere, he would’ve left a note. Jameson darted into the room and picked up the jacket. There was one way to tell where Marvin had gone. Jameson closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. “Vrite ai’ftó pa gráf tikye edu.” When he opened his eyes again, they briefly flashed a brighter blue before fading back to their normal shade. And now he could see a faint trail of blue, mixed with strands of green, leading out the door and down the hall.

Holding the jacket close, Jameson followed the trail back downstairs and out the front door. If the tracking spell was to be believed, that meant Marvin was outside, when it was dusk, and in the cold. In fact, JJ could see small flakes falling through the window. Marvin was outside, in the dark, when it was snowing, in a city he had admitted several times he still wasn’t entirely sure how to navigate on his own. Biting back the rising surge of fear, Jameson grabbed his coat and ran out the front door. The trail continued through the streets of the city, visible only to his eyes. Hopefully Marvin hadn’t gone far. And hopefully, he’d left for a harmless reason.

No such luck on the first frontier. It was a long walk, following the trail, and Jameson was starting to go beyond worry and into panic. By now, the trail had led him into one of the more run-down sections of the city, mainly composed of shabby apartment buildings. Jameson kept looking over his shoulder for trouble. But the trail was getting steadily brighter, more green entwined with the blue. That meant he was getting close.

The trail was mostly green by the time JJ rounded a corner and saw him. Marvin was sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk, leaning against the graffitied wall of one of the buildings. He was wearing his green vest over a white dress shirt, but even with the double layers and long sleeves, he was shivering slightly. His cane was on the ground some ways away, out of arm’s reach.

“Marvin!” JJ shouted, running the rest of the way. “Marvin, what on earth are you doing out here? It’s dark and cold and—and dangerous! You better have a good reason.”

Marvin didn’t answer. Didn’t even look up by the time JJ was standing next to him. He just kept facing ahead, staring at nothing.

“Are…are you okay?” JJ knelt on the sidewalk next to him. “Hello? Earth to Marvin?” He waved his hand over Marvin’s glassy eyes, with no response. “Are…are you cold or anything? I brought your jacket. Well, I had to, the spell doesn’t work without something belonging to the seeked. Here.” He draped the jacket over Marvin’s shoulders, but still got nothing. After a moment of slight hesitation, JJ pressed his finger to Marvin’s neck. His pulse was steady. So what was wrong? Was this some side effect of being out in the cold for too long? He didn’t know, he wasn’t a doctor.

A doctor! Jameson reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened his contacts list and typed out a quick message. He wasn’t sure how long it would be before Jackie checked his texts, but it better be soon. He put the phone back in his pocket, then reached forward and shook Marvin gently. “Marv. Please. Y-you’re starting to scare me.”

He blinked. Once, and slowly, but it was something. Jameson exhaled slowly. “I-I know you’re in there. Just—just say something? Please?” Apparently the blink was all Marvin had planned to do. Jameson swallowed a whimper. This was _scary._ He didn’t know what was happening, if Marvin could hear him, or what he could do about it. Maybe—maybe if he shocked Marvin enough, he’d snap out of it? How?

After a moment more of thought, Jameson decided on something. He wasn’t super skilled at these types of spells, but it would work in this chilly environment. “Ignesa,” he whispered, pushing his magic out through the words into a shape it wasn’t used to being in. His hands, holding Marvin’s upper arms, burst into blue flame that didn’t burn, but still felt close to hot enough to.

There was a sharp yell, and JJ found he was being pushed away. “Wh-what the hell, Jems?!” Marvin, eyes no longer glassy, was furiously rubbing his arms where the fire had touched. “I t’ought you did water tricks!”

“Marvin!” JJ lunged forward and wrapped him in a tight squeeze. “I was so worried!”

“W-worried? ‘Bout what?” After a moment, Marvin pulled away, looking up and down the city street. “Where…where are we?”

“According to the last street sign I passed, we’re on Somerset Road. This…isn’t exactly the best part of town, Marv. What are you doing out here?”

“I…I don’t know.” The confusion on Marvin’s face was mixing with a tinge of fear. “I was goin’ to take a nap, wait for you t’come home. But then…I don’ know. Me head went all fuzzy, and I…left. Why did I leave?” He looked around once more. “I r’member walkin’, but I don’ r’member how I got here.”

JJ didn’t know how to respond, but he didn’t have to. The phone in his pocket buzzed, and he hurriedly pulled it out. Jackie had replied, **What do you mean somethings wrong with marvin? Where are you? What happened?**

“Hang on a second, I texted Jackie about this, I need to explain what happened,” JJ said, already typing.

“Texted him ‘bout what?” Marvin was trying hard to hide the frantic note in his voice.

JJ looked up. “Marvin. When I got here, you were sitting on the ground, like you are now, and you weren’t responding when I asked you to. You were shivering, but you had a steady pulse, but you didn’t seem quite…here.”

Marvin blinked. “I…I sorta r’member you gettin’ here, tryin’ t’talk to me. But…I couldn’…it was like I wasn’ in my body…” He shivered, and pulled the jacket closer. “’s cold.”

“I know it is,” JJ said reassuringly. “If you want, I can give you my coat? You’ve been out here longer.”

“No, ‘m…’m fine.”

And that was the sign JJ needed. He finished the text to Jackie, then pulled off his coat and gave it to Marvin, who didn’t say anything and just let him wrap it around him. “Alright. We’re going to go home now. I walked here, do you think you can walk back?”

Marvin nodded quietly, and let himself be pulled to his feet. JJ picked up the cane from where it had fallen on the ground and handed it to him. As the two of them started walking, JJ’s phone buzzed again, and he checked the new message from Jackie. “Huh. He says you might have been dissociating.”

“I don’…know what t’at means,” Marvin admitted.

“It means…well, it’s like what you said, actually. It’s when you feel you’re not entirely connected to something, and that can be a task, the world around you, or even your own body. I think in extreme cases, the world can seem a bit…ah, what’s a good word? Out of sorts? Like an illusion? Distorted? Or—”

Marvin suddenly grabbed Jameson’s arm, looking at him with wide eyes. “I saw a man who cried red.”

Jameson could only stare. “Marvin? What—what does that mean?”

“I don’ know,” Marvin said, eyes still unusually wide. “But I just—I saw somet’ing like that. I just r’membered, and t’at…was the best way I could say it.”

“That’s…a bit concerning,” JJ said slowly. “Do you…want me to tell someone about that?”

“No!” Marvin suddenly shrieked. Then he looked around, and said in a normal voice, “No. I don’ know why but it—it’s a bad idea. I know it.”

JJ sighed. “Alright, if you insist. But if it happens again, you might want to consider—” He stopped.

“…Jems?” Marvin said cautiously.

“I don’t feel good,” Jameson whispered. Suddenly, he could feel his heart racing in his chest, pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat. Despite being in the snow fall without a coat, he was hot. And he couldn’t breathe. He was trying, but every effort was reduced to short gasps.

“Jameson!” Marvin yelled. “What’s happenin’?! Tell me!”

“I don’t—I-I don’t—” His legs were trembling. He stumbled, ending up falling against Marvin, who stumbled in turn but managed to hold him. “I-I-I—” Talking was hard, there wasn’t enough air in his lungs to fuel it, so he focused on breathing. Hyperventilating, more like, everything becoming a wheeze. Tears were prickling at his eyes.

“Jameson, you have t’breathe!” Marvin said. “D’you want me to sit you down?” He looked around. “I-I—somet’ing’s wrong, Jems. I-I feel…like…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. “There’s someone…”

_BANG!_

The sound was enough to startle Marvin off balance, and both he and Jameson toppled to the ground. Marvin flipped his cane in his hand into a defensive position, covering Jameson with it while still holding him. His eyes darted around, landing on a silhouette. He glared in its general direction. “Stay back!” He growled.

The silhouette stepped forward into the flickering light of a street lamp. “Really? That’s your plan? What were you gonna do against this thing?” He shook the handgun he was holding in Marvin’s direction.

Marvin relaxed, but only slightly. “You, huh? What’re you doin’ here?”

“I live here,” Anti said, walking forward. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“…I don’ know,” Marvin grumbled. He was getting tired of saying that.

Anti sighed. “Whatever. What’s up with your friend, there?”

“I-I-I’m fine,” Jameson wheezed. “I’m f-fine, just—I think I had a-a-an anxiety attack.”

“Actually, that would be a panic attack if it came on quickly, which I’m guessing it did.” Anti pulled open his jacket, holstering the handgun in the shoulder holster hidden underneath. “And I don’t blame you. That guy looked freaky.”

“Wh-what guy?” JJ asked, looking up.

“The…the guy that was standing right in front of you?” Anti asked, raising an eyebrow. “Okay, not _right_ in front of you, but pretty close. He scurried away after I fired.”

“You _shot_ somebody?” Marvin asked incredulously.

“No, I shot _at_ somebody. Huge difference.” Anti laughed. “But yeah, he’s gone now. Neither of you noticed him?”

Marvin slowly shook his head.

“Bit-bit more important th-things going on,” Jameson gasped, pulling away from Marvin.

“Uhh…yeah, what-fucking-ever. You two are the blindest bitches I’ve ever met.” Anti rolled his mismatched eyes.

Marvin scowled, using the cane to push himself to his feet and pulling JJ up after him. “So…what did he look like? T’is man y’saw.”

“He looked…” Anti trailed off. He looked up into the sky. “Um. He looked…I dunno, like a guy. Skinny. He had a…a hat, I think?”

“Brilliant,” Marvin drawled.

“Shut up, it was dark.”

“W-well…” JJ took a deep breath, finally getting his breathing back to normal. “Thank you for getting rid of him, I guess.”

“Sure.” Anti stuck his hands in his pockets, looking back at the two of them. “So, do I need to text Jackie back and tell him you’re alright or are you gonna do that yourself?”

“He texted you?” JJ asked.

“Yeah, he was freaking out, apparently something was wrong and, y’know, I live in the area, so.” Anti shrugged.

JJ looked around. “You live…here?” The brick buildings were dirty, there was trash in the streets, and the installed street lamps were either broken or breaking.

“Yes. And you’re not gonna see where exactly, so don’t ask.” Anti glared at Jameson, who didn’t look away. “Should I text him?”

“I’ll do it,” JJ assured him. “You can go back home if you’d like, we’re just going to walk back. And again, thank you.”

“…yeah, uh. Yeah. No problem.” Anti backed away. “You two stay safe, okay?” And without a goodbye, he turned and walked back down the street.

Marvin stared after him, eyes narrow. “I t’ought you said guns were ‘gainst the law.”

“They are, but…maybe he has a good reason. Let’s not jump to conclusions.” JJ had his phone out, already texting Jackie like he said. “You’re still good to walk?”

“Yep. Let’s go.”

“Alright. But,” JJ looked up, “once we’re home, we need to talk about what happened in more detail. Promise?”

Marvin hesitated, then nodded. “I promise. Now, let’s go.”

As they started on the way back home, Marvin glanced over his shoulder once more. Why did it feel like they were being watched?

* * *

It was a week later, and Jackie was just wrapping up his shift at the hospital. His mind was on the incident. He’d barely gotten home after spending a night with Rama, and he checked the messages he missed to see one from Jameson, saying there was an emergency and something was wrong with Marvin. The next few minutes had been a storm of worry. He wasn’t about to let someone get hurt! Especially not a new friend! Luckily, it had all worked out, though Marvin and Jameson were being strangely secretive about the whole thing. Maybe they just wanted to move on from it.

“Hey, Parker.”

Jackie looked up from the clipboard of paperwork he was supposed to be filling out to see Dr. Green, one of his colleagues, peeking out from around the corner of the hall. “Yeah?” he asked. “I’m almost off shift, is it an emergency?”

“There’s a patient in 234-C who wants to see you,” Green explained.

Jackie frowned. He wasn’t attending anyone in a room 234. But the C designation meant the children’s ward, which he was the assistant head of. So maybe the patient just wanted to see someone high up. Surprisingly, not the first time that’s happened. “Alright,” he said, putting the clipboard and pen down on the nearest flat surface. “Hey, if a guy comes in who looks basically exactly like me, but with shorter hair, no glasses, and probably wearing a sweater, tell him where I am, okay?”

“Will do. Your brother?”

Jackie huffed, hiding a small smile. “Surprisingly, no. But he might as well be at this point. His name’s Henrik, I’m planning on seeing a movie with him after my shift. Tell him where I am, and, uh, don’t try to stop him if he attempts to get past you and into the hospital. It’ll just waste everyone’s time since he can get past you anyway.”

“Jeez. Well, alright.” Green waved at Jackie as he walked past. “Remember, 234-C!”

“I got it, dude!”

The rooms in the children’s ward were smaller, but painted more colorfully than the plain white of the other wards. And the kids who unfortunately had to stay there usually had their own rooms, with the option of asking for a roommate (and a bigger room) if they got lonely. The nurse at the nursing station greeted him familiarly as he took the elevator from the ground floor to the next floor up. 234 was one of the outer rooms, situated near the back of the building.

Jackie entered, his first glance going to the bed. Which was, to his surprise, empty. He glanced around the room. There wasn’t a kid in here. But there was a man, standing at the window. Actually, _leaning out of_ the window. And that shouldn’t be possible. All the wards of the hospital had windows that could slide open, but they also had screens in place to keep anyone from reaching out. Just in case. “Uh, hello?” Jackie asked.

The man turned around. He was wearing gray all over. Shirt, pants, trainers, cap, basically all gray. Even his skin and hair seemed to have a grayish tint, obviously not healthy. Jackie tried to catch the man’s eye, but…his face kept slipping away. It was a bit…odd. Maybe he was tired after his shift? God, he hoped that wasn’t the case. He didn’t want to fall asleep in the theater.

“Hello!” The man said, grinning. “You’re one of the doctors here?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m Dr. Parker. Most people just call me Jackie, though.” Jackie shifted his weight. “You didn’t…ask for me, did you?”

“Actually, I did. I know I don’t know you, but I overheard some of the patients talking about how nice you are.”

“So…you’re not actually a patient here?” Jackie laughed quietly. “I mean, of course you’re not _here,_ this is the kids’ ward. Which is…kinda confusing about why you’re in this room, specifically.”

“I like kids,” the man said simply. “They’re nice. Cute. Little bundles of happiness.” He backed up a bit, leaning backwards out the open window.

“Whoa, hey.” Jackie took a few steps forward into the room. “Be careful. You could fall.”

“So? It’s not high enough to kill me.”

“Yeah, but you could still get hurt!” Jackie took another step forward. The man wasn’t leaning out any more, but he wasn’t showing any sign of getting entirely back inside either. “Maybe even permanently, if you’re unlucky enough.”

“Good to know.”

Jackie didn’t know what to do. This guy didn’t really sound overly concerned with the threat of injury. Maybe it was time to change the subject. “Well. Anyway…” he said tentatively. “You…wanted to talk to me? Why?”

“Oh yes.” The man smiled. “Like I said, I heard you’re really nice. Everyone here seems to love you. Except a few of the staff who are upset that you’re not ‘professional.’ I dunno what they’re talking about. I like how you dress.”

“Uh, thanks.”

The man stopped leaning out the window, and Jackie breathed a sigh of relief. Which turned out to be short-lived, as the man then hopped up onto the window sill, sitting on a precarious balance between inside and outside.

“What are you doing?!” Jackie half-ran towards the window, quickly closing the distance between him and the man, until he was within arm’s length. “Are you crazy?! Did you lose your mind?!”

“ ~~I lost it long ago.~~ ”

“Wh-what?” Something had been…off about the man’s voice that time. It was like…Jackie couldn’t quite grasp it, as the tone and pitch slipped out of his mind. In fact…he didn’t remember what the man’s voice sounded like at all. Even though he’d been just listening to him talk. “What did you say?”

“ ~~It’s not important.~~ ” The man shrugged. ~~“But I still haven’t answered your question! Why did I want to talk to you? Well.~~ ” The man grabbed the edges of the window, leaning even farther back. Jackie half-reached out, afraid he might fall if he tried to grab him. ~~“I’ve been really lonely. Anyone I talk to eventually goes away, you know. Even after I try to make new friends. And I’m thinking that maybe nobody cares to stay for long. But then I started hanging out here! And Jackie, you sounded perfect! You’re so kind, and persistent, and actually, really care. And you’re able to befriend anyone. Even someone who clearly doesn’t trust you with anything, not even his real name.~~ ”

Jackie wondered for a brief second how this guy knew about his friends, especially Anti, who didn’t come around the hospital too much. But the thought slipped away, not quite registering enough to cause alarm. “Thanks, I guess. And I’m sorry you’re…you’re going through this. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“ ~~I thought you’d never ask!~~ ” The man smiled. Or…had he always had that grin? “A ~~nd yeah, there is something you can do. I want you to be my friend, Jackie. You seem cool.~~ ”

“You want to be friends?” Jackie blinked. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, even his thoughts. “But…I don’t know you that well.”

“ ~~We can get to know each other. Or I could, you know…~~ ” He leaned backwards and let go of the window. Just for a split second before latching on again, but that split second had been enough for him to quite nearly fall out of the window.

“No!” Jackie had lunged forward the moment the man let go, only to stop short when he realized he was okay. Fuck this, he couldn’t have someone get hurt if he could do anything about it. “Don’t do that, you’re right. We can, like, hang out or something. I’m sure we can become friends quickly.”

The man’s smile widened, and he righted himself into a sitting position. Jackie realized he was standing a lot closer to him that he had been just a second ago. But he couldn’t find the thought to take a step back. “ ~~That’s great! Jackie, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that.~~ ” He grabbed the front of Jackie’s hoodie. Jackie registered this fact dully, and wasn’t able to find a reason to care about it. “ ~~We can start now.~~ ”

“I…I think I had plans,” Jackie mumbled.

“ ~~Really? What? Can you tell me?~~ ”

Jackie scanned his mind, but he didn’t find anything. Just…gray fog. “I can’t remember. Guess it wasn’t that important. I feel kinda…fuzzy.”

“ ~~That’s okay, we all do sometimes. It’ll go away.~~ ”

“Really?”

“ ~~No. But it’ll get less. And you can still come with me~~.”

“I…I can?”

“ ~~Uh-huh. C’mon.~~ ”

He was leaning backwards again. Wasn’t there something wrong with that? Jackie couldn’t remember. But he was still holding onto him by the front of the hoodie, so as he leaned, Jackie leaned with him—

“ _What are you doing?!_ ”

Jackie jerked backwards. He knew that voice! That was an important voice! Then he was jerked forward again as the man pulled, and all of a sudden there was a hand there, prying at the man’s fingers until Jackie’s hoodie slipped away. The man vanished backwards, and Jackie was yanked away.

“Jackie! Jackie, you fucking moron, look at me!”

Someone slapped him. That cleared up a lot of the fog, but Jackie still had to shake his head a bit and blink several times to get rid of it completely. He looked at who hit him. “Vol—sorry, I mean Henrik? What’s going on?”

Schneep was staring intently at Jackie. He was wearing a gray sweater with a blue scarf, one of his favorite outfits for when he wasn’t busy vigilante-ing. “What’s going on?” he repeated. “What’s going on?!”

“Yes, that’s what I—don’t do that again!” Jackie caught Schneep’s hand by the wrist just before the hand made contact with his still-stinging face. “I came in here…because there was a patient who wanted to see me, but there’s no kid in this room, it was just a guy, and he was at the window, and I thought he was gonna jump—” His eyes widened, and he spun around. The man wasn’t in the window anymore. “Shit, he fell! He really fell! Oh my god!”

Jackie started forward, ready to look out the window at the damage, but Schneep caught him and held him back. “That was no ‘guy!’”

“Oh yeah? What else could it be?”

“I do not know!” Schneep yelled. “A fucking monster!”

“A fucking what?” Jackie asked, bewildered.

“A monster, Jackie!” Schneep grabbed his friend by the shoulders, staring him in the face. “That thing had—had black blood eyes, and sharp dead nails, and it was smiling too much for being about to fall!”

“What?!” Jackie wrenched out of Schneep’s grip and took a few steps back. “No no no, you’re gonna have to explain more.”

Schneep took a few deep breaths, before continuing on, calmer now. “It was very gray, you see. And it looked like the shape of a man, but then it had sharp nails, and its arms looked _dead,_ black from the elbow down! And its eyes were black, too, completely black! And they were bleeding! And the smile! Jackie, it was too happy that it was about to pull you out of the window.”

Jackie stared at him for a moment more. “Schneep. Henrik. Volt. Are you off your meds?”

“No, I am not!” Schneep insisted. “I still have the compartment thing you sent me, I use it.”

“Are you sure?” Jackie asked gently.

Schneep threw his arms into the air. “Fine! Check down there, out the window! See for yourself!”

“Thank you.” Jackie turned and strode over to the window. After a moment of hesitation, he peered downwards, only to receive a shock. “There’s…nobody there.” The pavement outside the window was empty, except for a red stain that wasn’t there before. A small splatter that, he estimated, was what it might look like if someone hit their head on the pavement too hard. But if someone did do that, then they wouldn’t be able to just walk away. He turned to look at Schneep. “There’s…no way someone wouldn’t still be there.”

“I am telling you, it was not a someone, it was a creature,” Schneep insisted. “I…I don’t remember much about it aside from what I have already told you. It was like a…I do not remember the word, the sort of-of fake seeing?”

“Illusion?”

“No, well yes, but I am thinking specifics. I think it has to do with deserts.”

“Mirage?”

“Yes!” Schneep said triumphantly. “But what I told you, that was very real. It is the details I do not remember.”

“I mean…” Jackie looked back out the window. “Maybe…” He recalled the man’s voice. Or rather, he tried to, and failed to remember anything beyond the words said. There was a sort of vague sense of tone, but not much else. And he couldn’t picture the man’s face, either. And the way his head had suddenly gone fuzzy, full of gray fog… “We can talk more about this later,” he said, sliding the window shut. “We’re gonna be late for the movie, probably.”

“Oh yes!” Schneep’s eyes lit up. “I forgot! Are you excited?”

Jackie chuckled. “A little. But hey, it’s gonna be with you, so it’s definitely gonna be exciting.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” Jackie grinned. “I just need to officially clock out and drop my coat off in the office, then we can go.”

“I will walk you there, of course,” Schneep said matter-of-factly.

“Thanks, Volt. I’d appreciate it. I feel a little…” Jackie glanced back at the window. “…uneasy, all of a sudden.”

* * *

Night fell on the city eventually. And someone was sitting on the rooftop of a run-down home in the suburbs. His legs were hanging off the edge, swinging. People wouldn’t see him. Nobody ever came close to this house, and even if they did, they would forget all about him the moment they looked away.

He was smiling. He always was, but this one was real.

He’d almost got two in a week. That was a good record. Sure, two others had come in and ruined everything, and there was that third one he didn’t know what to do with, but you had to look on the bright side! You had to keep smiling. And the ideas he was getting were more than enough reason to smile.


	5. Insomnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anti finds himself suffering from a series of strange nightmares, which may be connected to the earlier incidents his friends went through.

The phone was ringing. Or actually, not ringing, Anti kept his cell on vibrate. But the buzzing was loud enough to get Anti to look away from the computer screen where he was editing a video. He checked the caller ID, then after a moment of considering, he answered. “Why the fuck are you calling me at two in the morning?”

Schneep was unfazed by the lack of a greeting. “Why the fuck are you still awake at two in the morning?”

“Hypocrite,” Anti said, voice monotone. “I’m editing. Sleep is for the weak, all that. Uhhh, answer to my question? Now please.”

There was a muffled huff on the other side. “I just remembered that I have to ask you something. On Wednesday, Jackie has a free shift, so we were planning on meeting at Waffle Cone around noon. Do you want to come?”

“Two questions.” Anti turned back to the computer, clicking automatically as he cut out marked sections of footage. “One, I thought you had work on Wednesdays? Did Latte Lake finally fire you?”

“I traded my hours.” Schneep sounded like he did not appreciate the slight at his ability to do his day job. “What else?”

“Is anyone else coming?”

“Ah…” Schneep hesitated. “Yes…Jameson and Marvin will be there.”

“I’m good.”

“You need more than two friends, Anti!” Schneep snapped. “It did not go so bad with them last time, did it? Until you left early.” The last statement sounded slightly accusatory.

“I’m fine, really,” Anti said, shrugging even though Schneep couldn’t see him. “I’m not lonely.”

“Maybe so, but it is not healthy. For your mind! Humans are social, we need interaction.”

“Volt, please, I double-majored in psychology, don’t try to pull shit like that on me.” He’d tried to diagnose himself often enough.

For a moment, there was silence on the other end. Well, actually, there were some muttered words, but Anti wasn’t sure they were in English. “Anti, for the love of god, you are going to come to this thing and talk to people other than Jackie or me.”

“Or what?” Anti grinned.

Another silence. And then: “Or I will teach William how to say swear words.”

Anti froze. “You motherfucker.”

Laughter on the other end. “Honestly I am surprised he doesn’t already—”

“I soundproof my walls for a reason, bitch!” Anti sighed. “Okay, fine, Wednesday at twelve?” Three days from now. He didn’t have anything going on that day. Well, to be fair, he never really had much going on.

“Yes. We will see you then.”

“Cool. I’m hanging up now.” And he did. He opened up the calendar on his phone and made a note: **Wednesday 12pm: Blackmailed into lunch**.

Turned out that the call had ended at an opportune time. There was a small knock on his recording room door. Anti spun around in his chair and walked over, opening it and revealing a small, redheaded boy in dinosaur pajamas, clutching a pink sheep plushie. “Hey Will,” Anti said softly. “What’re you doing up? Tomorrow’s Monday, you have school.”

Will looked down, scuffing his feet on the carpet. “I had a bad dream.”

“Oh, that sucks.” Anti kneeled down on the carpet so he’d be level with Will. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yeah…” Will hugged the sheep plushie closer. “I’ve, uh, been having pretty weird dreams sometimes. But this one went bad. In the dream, I was with this strange man, and he was really gray and crying but he was really nice. We were in a house, but I dunno where it was. I was exploring for a while, but then I got to the basement. The guy was there again, but he was different. He looked happy, but I don’t think he was. He said he’d leave me alone for a while, and that he was gonna visit you.”

“Me?” Anti asked.

“He said, ‘your dad.’ He had a nasty smile, Dad. I told him to leave you alone, but he laughed. Things got very dark, and he said that when you weren’t around anymore I could stay with him, but I didn’t want to! He was scary…an’ I don’t want you to go away…” Will rubbed his teary eyes on the sheep plushie.

“Hey.” Anti pulled Will closer. Will closed the rest of the distance, hesitantly leaning into him. It was a silent ask for a hug, since Will knew Anti wasn’t always comfortable with that. But he was this time. Anti wrapped Will up in a warm hug, feeling his head burrow into his shoulder. “Maybe it was scary, but it was just a dream. It’s over now, and it’s not gonna come back. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“…promise?” The plea was a bit muffled.

“Of course I promise.” Anti rubbed Will’s back reassuringly. “Hey, if you want, you can stay with me on the sleeper sofa for the rest of the night. I was just going to bed.”

“You should go to sleep earlier, Dad.”

Anti laughed. “Maybe. But do you want to?”

“Yeah…”

“Alright.” Anti pulled away from the hug. “Let’s go then.” The editing could wait. He saved the project, it wouldn’t do any harm to let his computer go to sleep. And he was happy he’d taken the time to change into pajamas earlier, he wouldn’t want Will to wait and probably get even more scared.

So it was only a few minutes later when both of them were asleep, Will snuggled up to Anti’s side on the mattress that folded out of the couch. Though the apartment had two bedrooms, Anti had turned one into his recording room and slept in the main living area instead. He gave the other to Will, of course. Kids need their own space.

Since both of them were asleep, neither of them noticed the person sitting on the foot of the mattress, watching them.

* * *

_It’s windy. Gusts are blowing his hair in front of his face. Frequently. He can hardly see where he’s going. But between the moments of obscured vision, he’s walking against the wind, through empty city streets. This is not the city he’s come to know in recent years. But it’s familiar._

_There is nothing. The buildings are hollow shells with glassless windows, and any cars are abandoned. He doesn’t know where he’s going, just that it’s important that he gets there. He’s been walking for a long time. There is blood in his mouth._

_The city is overtaken by a gray fog, hiding everything from view. He stops walking, only to find that his heart stops when he does and suddenly he can’t breathe. The only way to keep that from happening is to keep going through the motions, even though there is nothing ahead. Some parts of him want to look behind him. But other parts warn him that there is nothing there. Or worse, there is something._

_Movements are slowing. Something has grabbed his legs, but he is scared to look down at whatever’s dragging him. It feels bony and cold, and so very, very heavy. He thinks he knows what it is. Or who it was._

_The fog clears, and the city drops. Sidewalks, buildings, roads, everything, all ending at a sudden cliff, like someone cut a part of the city out. There is not darkness at the bottom, instead, more gray fog. He can’t go forward. But the weight is gone. So he turns around._

_There is someone there. Standing in the quiet. They stare at each other. Until there is a feather-light whisper falling in his mind._

_“ ~~You deserve this.~~ ”_

_The bony weight returns and pulls him into the depths._

* * *

When Anti woke up, he found he was standing at the window. There were only two in the apartment, and this one was located in the main area. It was open. His hand was on the sill. He quickly jerked it backwards.

He blinked and shook his head to clear it. How did he get here…? Did he sleepwalk? And…open the window in his sleep? He rushed to close it again, firmly. The sky outside was the type of blue between the usual daytime color and the midnight variety. He glanced at the clock. Five thirty. He glanced at the sofa. Will was still asleep, the sheep plushie flung across the mattress. The plushie was named Brian, which Anti had always found funny.

Anti sighed, smiling slightly. There were a couple more hours before Will had to wake up for school, and therefore before he had to wake up to walk him to the school bus. He could put aside one instance of sleepwalking, wait to see if it happened again. He quickly crossed the room, put Brian the sheep plushie back in Will’s arms, and climbed into bed again.

Yet, even though he promised himself he’d forget it, an uneasy feeling lingered, and he didn’t actually sleep for the couple hours he had left.

* * *

Three days later, Anti walked into the establishment known as The Waffle Cone and immediately wanted to leave again. Why did he agree to this? Why didn’t he break that agreement? He yawned, then looked around the main room. It was pretty empty on weekdays, so it was easy to see the group of four sitting at a table by a window. Also Jackie was waving at him and shouting “Hey Anti over here! Over here!” Anti inhaled deeply, braced himself, and walked over.

“You made it!” Jackie stood up, hesitantly reaching out, waiting for the signal to continue. Anti shook his head. This wasn’t a good day for contact. Jackie withdrew, continuing to talk like nothing happened. “I told them you would come. I mean, free food and ice cream, what’s not to like?”

Anti mumbled a response, pulling a chair over from one of the other four-chair tables and sitting down with the others. Jackie was wearing his hoodie and round glasses, like always. His hair was tied back with a sparkly red clip that he’d probably bought for his daughter, since it wasn’t his normal style. Sitting next to him was Schneep, wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt and his blue scarf. He greeted Anti with a single wave.

Then there were the two other people, JJ and Marvin. Anti had seen them a total of three times before, but they were memorable. JJ with his thick mustache and posh accent, Marvin with his thick accent and posh clothes. Not to mention the last time Anti had seen these two, they’d been in the middle of a…strange situation, one neither of them was discussing with anyone else, apparently. The two of them were sitting opposite Jackie and Schneep, currently having a discussion between the two of them.

“We already ordered food, but we have free orders of fries!” Jackie said, pushing a basket toward Anti. Even though The Waffle Cone was technically an ice cream place, they sold food as well. “You can get something when the server comes back, if you want.”

“…sure, yeah.” Anti pulled the basket the rest of the way towards him, picking through the fries absentmindedly. He blinked slowly. Every time he closed his eyes, he was tempted to just keep them that way and pass out. His head felt heavy…

“Anti!”

Anti shot upward at the sound of Jackie’s shout. “Hmm, what?”

“Are…you okay?” Jackie asked, brows lowered in concern. “You were zoning out.”

“’M just tired,” Anti mumbled. “Haven’ been sleeping well lately.” Kind of true. When he actually went to sleep, he slept like a log. Except for the dreams. The strange, vivid yet surreal dreams that happened every night, every time he slept. They were…disconcerting, but they wouldn’t be such a problem if it wasn’t what happened when he woke up. One time when he woke up he was in the kitchenette area of his apartment, his hand resting on the knife block. Another time he was leaning over the bathroom sink full of water, his face close to the water and getting closer. The most recent dream ended with him waking up in his recording room with his gun in his hand. Which was especially worrying since he kept that in a locked box whenever it wasn’t with him.

Because of these strange wake up calls, he tried to not sleep at all. He passed out eventually, but he set an alarm on his phone for every fifteen minutes to help wake him up. He was sleeping through it more and more often, though. It got to the point where he scheduled an appointment with a therapist yesterday, but it wouldn’t happen until next week. Hopefully he wouldn’t do anything bad while sleepwalking.

Schneep looked over at him. “You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks.” Anti threw a fry at him. It missed.

“I think your sleep cycle has been thrown off,” Schneep continued, undeterred. “It is important to have a regular one. Right, Jackie?”

“Right,” Jackie agreed. “If you have to, you can stay up late, but just make sure to do it at the same time every night. Oh, and Volt?” Jackie glared at him. “You know the expression ‘the pot calling the kettle black’? This is it, you’ve just made a prime example of that expression.”

Schneep made a face at him.

Meanwhile, JJ and Marvin had finished talking about whatever they were talking about. JJ glanced over at Anti. “Oh goodness, are you alright?”

“Fine,” Anti said firmly.

“Oh I see.” JJ was clearly not convinced.

“He’s been having trouble sleeping,” Jackie explained.

“Fuck off with that!” Anti threw a fry at Jackie. It missed again. “You don’t get to say the thing, I get to say the thing and I don’t want to.”

“Well, I’m sorry about that,” JJ said patiently. “Obviously you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but there are some types of tea that are supposed to help with that. If you don’t want to use pills or the like. I have some boxes I can give to you.”

“No, I’m good.” First off, he wasn’t in the habit of taking free things from people, they always wanted something back even if they said they didn’t. Second off, he was trying to _avoid_ sleep. “I prefer coffee anyway.”

“Ah, a man after m’own heart,” Marvin popped in. Schneep nodded.

“Y’know, maybe that’s your problem,” Jackie said. “Too much caffeine.”

“Can we drop it, please?!” Anti hoped he was imagining the pleading note in his voice. “Let’s talk about something else. You two!” He pointed at JJ and Marvin. “Talk about something.”

Marvin raised an eyebrow. “A bit upstage, aren’ ye?”

“Oh yea, far shure I am,” Anti drawled, thickening his own Irish accent to an absurd degree. "Yer real bang on there, now feck off.”

Marvin grinned, which was the opposite effect Anti had intended. He leaned back in his chair, grabbing the cane that was always by his side and twirling it loosely. “Well, if y’want somethin’ to talk about, I’m still fairly new to this city, in a way. Anythin’ locals would know?”

“‘New in a way’?” Anti repeated.

“I’ve been here before, but ‘t was a long time ago,” Marvin admitted. “T’ings have changed. Jems has been a help, but more t’oughts and opinions is always a good t’ing, nobody knows everythin’, after all.”

Anti smiled. “Oh yeah, I can give you a grand tour. We can go down to the Kelly Bridge—”

“Anti, for the love of god,” Schneep muttered. Meanwhile, Jackie had flopped face-first on the table.

“—maybe drive down past the house on Aspen Street—”

Jackie popped back up again. “Nooooooooo!”

JJ’s head whipped over toward Anti. “Don’t you even joke about that.”

“Oh, wow, okay.” Anti raised his hands. “Just making a suggestion.” The corner of his mouth was twitching.

“The Kelly Bridge is s’posed to be haunted, right?” Marvin asked. “I r’member that one. About the bride and groom? Is this…house in the same vein? Are you plannin’ t’get me haunted?”

“No, I don’t think you’d get haunted. Just freaked out,” Anti shrugged. “This city actually has a lot of urban legends. The house on Aspen Street is probably the most well-known—”

“Because it’s freaky!” Jackie half-yelled. “Dr. Orwell, at my work, her cousin moved into that house and then died two weeks later. Nobody lives there _now_ because everyone who has somehow died in under a month!”

“Not everyone.” Anti leaned on the table, grinning. He was relishing this, the way everyone was captivated by his story. Finally, a high in the last few days of just low moments. “It all started with that case about four years ago…”

“Oh god, I remember that.” JJ covered his mouth. “That was terrible.”

“What case?” Schneep asked, suddenly paying attention. “You’ve told me the creep story about the house, but never mentioned a case.”

“Really? Guess it never really occurred to me…” Anti frowned. “It happened about a year before you moved here, so you wouldn’t have heard it on the news like the rest of us.” Anti, Jackie, and apparently JJ had all been living in the city at the time. “I must’ve just assumed someone told you.”

“No, nobody talks about it,” JJ said firmly. “Because it’s bad enough that it happened, we don’t need to keep reviving it.”

“…but what if we do?”

“Anti, stop, please, the food’s going to be arriving soon and I don’t want to think about this while eating.” Jackie sounded tired of these antics.

“No, t’is sounds int’resting, keep goin’,” Marvin was leaning forward, clearly intrigued.

“Nah, I don’t want to push Jackie too far,” Anti waved it away. “Otherwise Schneep’ll punch me with his zappy gloves.”

“I don’t have them,” Schneep piped up. His eyes narrowed. “…right now.”

“Yeah, see? We can talk about something else. Like, uhh…” Anti trailed off. “Fuck, I dunno.” His brain was still a bit full of mush. Couldn’t come up with anything new.

Luckily, he didn’t have to. Food arrived at that very moment, and he had to admit that the rest of the time spent there was pretty fun. He probably would’ve enjoyed it more if he wasn’t fighting to keep his eyes open.

Still, he half-wished it lasted longer. Social engagement gave him some form of stimulus to keep him awake. Once he returned home, he put on loud music, tried playing more games, turned up the volume of his alarms, walked in circles around the main area, and it was still barely enough to keep him up long enough to pick up Will from the school bus stop.

The next few hours were an exhausted, lengthy blur. He tried his best, he really did. He managed to get all the way through dinner with Will. But soon after he sent Will to bed, he realized he was going to pass out, and there was nothing he could do about it. And that was the last thing he remembered.

* * *

_He’s in a dark room. There is no sign of light, not even aimless drifting in from windows or under door cracks. Someone is laughing. He walks forward, and runs into a table. His hands search the surface, grabbing a small rectangular object. It flickers, and lights. He still can’t see enough, but he can’t lose the small sphere of safety he gained._

_There is a doorway, leading to a hallway. He walks through it. Somehow, even in the dark, he knows that this place is run down, that the family pictures on the walls have faces that have faded to gray._

_Is that what will happen to him? Will he fade? He doesn’t think anyone would take care to keep him around. It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it?_

_He doesn’t like thinking about that fact—because he knows it is a fact—and so he concentrates on the solid here and now. There is still laughter. It sounds like a child, or perhaps children. He can pick out a familiar giggle, and he speeds up. He can’t leave him behind._

_“ ~~But you will.~~ ”  
_

_The hallway doesn’t end. It just changes. Now there is the smell of copper, thick and cloying. It’s on him, it’s on his hands, and it won’t come off. He still walks forward._

_And he is sure there is someone here._

_There’s a movement, a gust of wind, and his light flickers out. He can’t get it back on, though he tries. He looks around the dark. “Where are you?! What do you want from me?!”_

_Someone touches his shoulder. He gasps, and flails away, hitting the wall of the hallway. He presses his back to it and looks and looks and looks and looks and_

_“ ~~You’re going to die, you know.~~ ”  
_

_It’s a statement of fact. But it sounds like someone is very happy this fact exists._

_“I-I-I’m not—”  
_

_“ ~~I’ll tell your kid that daddy loves him. Now goodbye.~~ ”  
_

_The voice is gone. But there’s light—light in the distance, faint yellow, he can see it. He walks toward it—_

Someone screamed.

He blinked.

“ _Anti!_ ”

The light is coming closer—there’s a loud deep noise and a screeching sound—the lights are in front of him—they’re very…nice—

Someone tackled him with oof-inducing force. Suddenly he was rolling against a rough, hard surface that scratches at him through his clothes. The world became streaks of black and gray and blue until the motion stopped, and he was looking up at the night sky.

“What were you thinking?!”

That’s a familiar voice. Familiar…yeah. Who was it again?

“Anti! Fucking answer me!” A face, half-covered by a black mask. A man wearing a gray coat with glowing blue spots. The man grabbed him by the shoulders and started shaking him.

“I…” Anti closed his eyes slowly. He was really, really tired…

“Scheiße—Anti, no!” More shaking.

Anti opened his eyes to look at the man again. He hummed. “…Volt,” he said after a while, and started closing his eyes again. He was so tired that the spots where he hit the hard, rough surface only dully ached, when they should’ve really hurt, even burned.

“Yes! Yes, that’s me! Anti, what happened?! Can you tell me that? Tell me!”

“I was…it was dark…was looking for Will…in the hallway…” The words sound a bit slurred.

“What? What hallway?!”

“…dunno…” He could feel himself falling into the deep waters of sleep again.

“Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Anti, hang on, don’t fall asleep, I have to—I have to take you somewhere. Do not fall asleep!”

But it was too late. He was falling already. His head tilted sideways, and the last thing he saw was a man in gray.

* * *

“I think he’s awake?”

“Why is that a question? Is he or is he not?”

“I don’t know. He’s kind of responding?”

“Maybe you shoul’ just slap him.”

“I actually tried that, he didn’t even seem to notice.”

“May I ask what happened?”

“I do not know how to explain it to you…”

“Try your best, ‘m sure we’d understan’.”

Anti opened his eyes just a little. Even that was a tremendous effort, so instead of going all the way, he stopped halfway through. He was lying on his side on a bed, underneath the covers. It was…really soft…he could sink into this…but he kept his eyes half-open. There were three people in the room. They all looked vaguely the same, and it took him a while to recognize them. JJ was standing nearest to him, recognizable by his mustache. Though Anti was a bit confused by the bluish glow around his hand, especially when said hand was grabbing his own. Schneep was also nearby, wearing his super suit but with the mask pulled down. He was pacing. Marvin was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, legs crossed and cane in lap.

And then Anti realized he didn’t know where he was, or why these people were with him. And he was probably asleep in from of them. That jolted him just a bit more awake. No, he couldn’t—why were they here? What did they want? What did they do while he was sleeping? He tried to get up but…god, he was so tired.

“Well…” Schneep contemplated his words. “There is…someone who I’ve fought a couple of times, when I go out on patrol.”

“The hero has a villain?” JJ sounded mildly amused.

“Yes, I suppose you could say that. Anyway, he showed up tonight. He…led me to a place.” Schneep stopped his pacing. “He laughed, and asked me if I was ‘fast enough to save him.’ His exact words. And it is lucky I looked around at that moment, because I saw—I saw Anti, he was standing in the middle of the road. I ran there, and I saw there was a car coming, and I…”

The lights. Anti remembered the lights. _Headlights._ They’d been coming closer. And the words in…that was a dream, wasn’t it? _You’re going to die, you know._

“Well…’t least you were fast enough,” Marvin said, sounding like he was offering up a silver lining.

“Yes, but Anti…he was acting very strange. I think this someone might have done something to him, then tried to kill him.” Schneep looked troubled. “He tried to do the same thing to Jackie.”

“Someone tried to kill Jackie?!” Marvin repeated, anger evident.

“Yes, three weeks ago,” Schneep confirmed. “He tried to pull him out a window.”

“Terrible,” JJ muttered. He adjusted his hold on Anti’s hand, and a little bit of the blue glow flowed down over Anti’s arm. Anti flinched a bit, eyes fluttering. “Why did you come here?”

Schneep shrugged. “You were…close. But also, your magic…it is real. And this someone, he has…he does strange things. I am not sure he is human. I thought it would be a good idea.”

Anti took a deep breath, and coughed. He’d meant to say something, but it hadn’t come out right. Nevertheless, everyone was instantly on alert. And suddenly Schneep was leaning over him. “Anti? Anti? Are you awake? Can you say anything?”

Another deep breath. “…helicopter,” Anti mumbled.

Schneep looked confused. “What?”

“You. You’re helicoptering…” Anti explained. “Close…and he’s touching…” he tried to shake his head.

Schneep leaned back, now slightly embarrassed. “Ah. I see. Unfortunately he has to touch you for his magic to work, he is trying to wake you up.”

Anti groaned. “Don’ like…but fine…”

“Are…are you okay?” Schneep asked hesitantly.

“Mm…tired…” Anti closed his eyes for a bit. “I…h’vn’t slept…at least a day. Bad things…sleepwalk…”

“Oh, this is natural exhaustion, then.” JJ slumped in relief. He turned to Henrik. “Nothing bad’s going to happen if we let him sleep. Provided we keep an eye on him.”

“Alright…but one moment.” Schneep leaned just a bit closer. “Anti…can you tell us what happened?”

“Bad dreams…sleepwalk…bad things…” Anti’s head fell a bit more into the pillow.

“What kind of bad things?” JJ asked.

“…wake up, an’ like…one time, I woke up holding…knife…” He was trying to explain, but everything is a bit disconnected when you’re tired. “Dreams said…w’s gonna die…”

JJ and Schneep exchanged glances. “What happened tonight?” Schneep asked softly.

“Will went asleep an’ then…I did…din’ wanna…” He wanted to now, though. Just a little longer. “Bad dream…dark…someone there…woke up an’…lights coming closer…” His eyes opened a bit wider. “Saw a guy.”

“…who?” Schneep sounded like he already knew the answer.

“Gray…cap…smile…can’ ‘member all…”

Suddenly Marvin was right behind the other two. “Was t’ere blood comin’ from his eyes?” The other two looked at him, startled. He continued anyway. “Black eyes? Kinda dead-lookin’ arms? Blood on his head?”

“Mm-hmm,” Anti mumbled. His eyelids were drooping again.

“Marvin…how did you know that?” Schneep asked.

Marvin looked at him. “Because I’ve seen him before.”

“So have I,” Schneep said. “He’s the one I’ve been mentioning, who tried to kill Jackie, who I have been trying to fight and find out more about.”

Marvin stared at him. “I t’ink we have t’ings to talk about.”

Anti squeezed JJ’s hand, which was still holding his. “C’n I…?”

“Oh!” JJ let go. Immediately, Anti was hit with a wave of exhaustion. “Yes, go to sleep. We can talk more in the morning.”

Anti didn’t even respond, just drifted off. It was a relief to finally do so without worry.

He wasn’t aware of the worries that were to come.


	6. Gray Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group meets to discuss the odd goings-on, only to realize that they aren't alone.

Weekday mornings were always a bit of a rush for Jackie. But at least it was the same routine most days. Wake up, get ready, make breakfast for Michelle, help her get ready, drive her to school, come back home to make sure he had everything for work, and then drive to work. Some days his shift started later, some days Michelle had to be early for a field trip, but the routine varied very little. In all honesty, Jackie kind of liked it that way. Which might be why he ignored the first phone call, rationing it away as probably being a spam number. But by the third call, it was obvious it wasn’t just spam.

After making sure Michelle was munching happily on her toast for breakfast, Jackie finally picked up the phone to check the ID, and was immediately overwhelmed by an emotion that was combination annoyance, exasperation, and a little worry. “You ever notice how you’re the one who always calls people?” He commented upon answering the phone. “Why don’t people ever call you?”

“What?” Schneep was clearly not expecting that answer. “Never mind. Jackie, we need to talk.”

Jackie glanced over toward the dining room table where Michelle was sitting. “Well, make this quick, I have to take Michelle to school.”

“No, I mean in person. And I mean we _all_ need to talk.”

Jackie blinked. “Who’s ‘we all’?”

“You, me, Anti, and JJ and Marvin,” Schneep clarified. “It’s very important. Can you meet up with us soon?”

“I—I _just_ told you I need to take my daughter to school. And then after that I work until two today.”

“We can do it in the evening.”

“Henrik,” Jackie sighed. “ _You_ work this evening, remember? You said you traded your shift yesterday for one today.”

“Fuck, I forgot.”

“You forgot…about your job.”

“To be fair, last night was eventful,” Schneep said defensively.

“Did. Did you go to sleep at all last night?” Jackie thought he already knew the answer, so he continued anyway. “Dude. Take a nap or something before you work. Even if you don’t fall asleep and instead just lie there, it’ll do you good.”

“Ah, whatever, whatever,” Schneep said dismissively. “So we have to meet tomorrow. Do you work then, too?”

“Yeah, until two again.”

On the other side of the line, Schneep’s voice became momentarily muffled like he was covering the receiver with his hand and talking to someone else. Jackie waited patiently, tapping his fingers against the dining room table with a satisfying clacking pattern.

“Daaaad!” Michelle called, even though she was just on the other side of the table. “I finished.”

Jackie glanced over. “You have to eat the crusts, Michelle.”

“Awwwww!” Michelle set her head on the table and groaned. “Ren lets me skip the crusts.”

“Well, you can skip then when I’m not here, then.” Jackie smiled a bit. “But I hear bread crusts make your hair curly.”

Michelle’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“It’s what I hear.”

Michelle looked down at the bread crusts on her plate and began shoving them in her mouth.

“Hey slow down, you might choke!” Jackie warned.

“What?” Schneep’s voice on the phone returned.

“No, I’m talking to Michelle, Schneep, not you,” Jackie said.

“Ah, I see. Anyway, we are now planning to meet at my apartment tomorrow at four. Would that work?”

“Well, that depends. What’s this even about?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you.” Schneep laughed nervously. “It…remember the window incident a while ago?”

“How could I forget?” Jackie shivered internally. He still couldn’t quite believed that happened.

“Yes, well. It is about that. The creature that did that…it…all the rest of us have seen it too. And we need to talk about it.”

Jackie went suddenly cold, as if a bucket of ice water had been dunked over his head. “Okay,” he said quietly. “I’ll see you then.” And then he hung up. He stared blankly at the phone for a bit longer.

“Dad?” Michelle asked. “Are you okay? You lost all your color.”

Jackie shook his head. He smiled at his daughter. “Yeah, I’m fine. Are you finished?”

“Mm-hmm.” Michelle played with the ends of her hair. “Is it curly now?”

“Well, it doesn’t work instantly, but I think it is a little wavier. Now come on.” Jackie walked over to stand next to her while she hopped off the chair. “Let’s finish up and get you to school.”

* * *

Jackie couldn’t concentrate the rest of the day. His work at the hospital slipped up enough for his coworkers to notice something was wrong, but he denied anything, just saying he was tired. If any of them noticed he was avoiding the second floor, they didn’t say anything. He’d never told them he nearly got pulled out a window. Because honestly, if one of them told him that a strange creature nearly killed him and that they couldn’t even really remember what the creature looked like, he would probably recommend they see a therapist.

He got off work at two like usual, then just as usual he drove over to the school to pick up Michelle at two-thirty. Upon coming home, he immediately excused himself to his room, where he lied down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

A few minutes later, the door to the bedroom burst open. “Jackie if I wanted to stab someone in the stomach area how quickly would they have to be rescued?!”

Jackie burst out laughing; he couldn’t help it. A question like that _would_ be suspect, if it wasn’t coming from Rama, who was a crime fiction writer and also Jackie’s spouse. “Hi to you too. I’m home.”

“Yep, I heard you and Michelle come in.” Rama walked over and sat down on the mattress next to Jackie. Their black shoulder-length hair was tucked under their red beanie, and Jackie noticed they were wearing one of their favorite shirts: it had a picture of Shakespeare with sunglasses on with the caption ‘It’s hard to be the Bard.’ “Soooo?” They poked his arm. “Stomach stab wound?”

“Well I mean, it depends on where it happened and how deep it was. There are, like, organs in your torso.”

“Oh I didn’t think of that. Uhhh…it’s like, this-ish area I guess?” Rama made a circle with their fingers around a spot a little bit left of their belly button. “And pretty deep, I dunno, a switchblade went all the way in there.”

“Uh, okay, there aren’t any organs that are too dangerous to hit there. But if it’s a switchblade going all the way in…” Jackie scrunched his eyes closed as he thought. “That’s probably still going to puncture something, not to mention the blood loss. Maybe between one to three hours?” If Jackie was being honest, he was partially drawing on experience of having to patch up Schneep’s wounds after a fight, which happened way too often.

“Alright, that’s enough time,” Rama nodded.

“Are you going to stab Alice again?” Jackie asked, referencing the main character of Rama’s short stories.

“No, I’m stabbing her brother.”

“Noooooo!” Jackie whined. “You put him in danger too much, give him a break!”

Rama grinned. “Neverrr!” Their grin faded when Jackie only smiled lightly, and proceeded to drop the subject. “Hey. You okay, Jackieboy?” they asked.

“…I don’t know,” Jackie admitted. “I feel a bit…I don’t know.”

Rama stood up, walked over to the dresser, picked something up, then returned to their spot on the bed, handing the item to Jackie. It was a black-and-red fidget cube. Jackie took it and began idly pressing the buttons. “You have any idea what could be causing that?” Rama asked.

He did have an idea. Because he kept thinking about the window incident, and every thought tied to it was accompanied by a worm of anxiety in his stomach. “…yeah,” he said, and didn’t elaborate.

“Hmm.” Rama pursed their lips. “Well, you don’t have to talk about it. Anything I can do to help?”

Jackie shrugged awkwardly, still lying down. He traced the patterns in the ceiling with his eyes.

“How about we watch a movie? I’m gonna get my laptop, we’re gonna power it up, and find something that can distract you.”

“…yeah, that sounds good.”

The rest of the night was spent curled up on the bed watching Disney animated movies on Netflix. Michelle joined at one point, squeezing in between her two parents. And Jackie started to feel better, surrounded by his family. When night fell, it wasn’t too hard to fall asleep.

* * *

And then the next morning dawned and it started again as he had to go through another shift at the hospital where he had to suffer through repeated instances of anxious thoughts assaulting him. What even _was_ that creature? What did it want with him and the others? Was it going to kill them? Why were so many details about it fuzzy? Did it somehow affect your mind? That prospect caused Jackie to shudder every time he imagined it.

When four o’clock finally rolled around, Jackie had managed to calm down again. They were lacking in information, but if they all pooled their knowledge, they had to come up with something. They _had_ to. Didn’t they?

Jackie texted Schneep when he was outside the front door of the apartment building. About a minute later, Schneep opened the door. “Jackie!” He brightened. “Come in, come in, you are the last to arrive, we were waiting for you.”

“Well, thanks for waiting, then,” Jackie smiled. He followed Schneep down the hall and up a single flight of stairs to the second floor. He’d been here many times before, to the point where he didn’t even have to look at the apartment numbers to know which one was Schneep’s.

The layout of the apartment was familiar as well. It was a simple studio apartment, with an attached bathroom and a single wall separating the sleeping area from the rest of the apartment. A corner of the floor was taken up with a kitchenette, while the rest was a combination living/working/dining area. There was a section for the dining table and chairs. There was a section taken up with a couch, two chairs, a coffee table, and a TV. And there was a desk with a computer shoved against a wall, next to a bunch of shelves overflowing with various stuff. Other than the shelves, everything in the apartment was very neat and clean, modern-style furniture in shades of blue. There were also a couple potted plants that Jackie knew from experience not to touch unless he wanted Schneep to freak out on him.

Currently, the other three of the group were scattered about the apartment. Anti was sprawled on the couch, eyes closed and probably half-asleep. JJ was looking about the kitchen section, opening cabinets, though he looked embarrassed about it when Schneep and Jackie appeared. Marvin was sitting in the desk chair, playing with the computer but honestly looking like he had no idea what he was doing.

“Alright, everyone is here!” Schneep said. He was trying to sound enthusiastic, but it fell flat. “Now we can start.”

“Well, _where_ do we start?” Jackie asked, sitting down in the nearest chair, not relaxing.

JJ approached the living area, choosing to sit in the other chair. “Well, I guess we should put all our cards on the table. We don’t know much about whatever this…person is, but I bet that if we shared all our encounters, we’re bound to figure something out.”

Anti opened his eyes. “Well, then I think you and Marvin should go first. You saw him first, right?”

“You did?” Jackie asked, surprised. “When was this?”

“Oh. Well, you remember that night I texted you because Marvin was acting strange and wandered off?” JJ looked over at Marvin, who remained silent, over by the desk.

“Yeah?”

JJ kept looking at Marvin, raising an eyebrow. But when Marvin didn’t say anything, he sighed and stopped. “Well, most of what I told you was true. Marvin did disappear, and I did find him in an entirely different part of town. And everything that you said might be dissociation, that happened too, but—”

“I’m still not quite sure what happen’d,” Marvin said suddenly. “I t’ink at some point I…I’m not sure, but…I remember seeing a man dressed in gray, whose eyes were bleedin’.” He looked down, as if worried they might not believe him.

Jackie cleared his throat. “I know who—or what—you’re talking about. I saw it, not too long after you.”

As the minutes passed, the pieces were puzzled together. Marvin and JJ’s unplanned walk that night, Jackie’s encounter at the window, and Anti’s recent stint of nightmares and sleepwalking.

“I’ve been running into this…person,” Schneep said. At some point, he’d moved to sit on the couch, forcibly pushing Anti’s legs out of the way. “Not very often, perhaps once a week, but it has occurred enough. He has tried to kill me.”

“What? Does he, like, stab you or something?” Anti asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, no.” Schneep shook his head. “It is…really whatever is available. The first time I saw him, we were in a construction site, I almost got impaled on that steel rebar. Then again, we were on a high building, and he tricked me into stepping off. I was lucky no bones were broken.”

Jackie furrowed his brow. “Wait, was that the night you broke into my house looking like you’d been hit by a car?”

“Ah…no?” Schneep said unconvincingly.

“How do you just step off a building?” Anti mumble-asked.

“Well, I did not know the edge of the building was so close!” Schneep snapped. He folded his arms. “It was like a hallucination, an illusion. It looked like I was in the middle of the roof, but I was on the edge, and I did not know.”

“So, this thing can create illusions, hypnotize people, and give them nightmares that make them try to kill themselves,” JJ summarized. “And he doesn’t seem to get hurt, if he can fall out a second story window and walk away.”

“It’s like a brain demon,” Jackie said, playing with his hoodie strings.

“Yeah, it messes with your mind,” Anti agreed. “But here’s the thing I’m wondering: can I stab it?”

“Anti!” Jackie gasped. “Is this the time?” Meanwhile, Schneep sighed.

“No, really, this is relevant. Because how the fuck are we supposed to get rid of it?” Anti scowled. “If it falls out a window and skips off afterward, how do we kill it?”

“Maybe we don’t need to,” JJ said. “Maybe we can ward it off, somehow.”

“What, with like garlic or something?”

“Maybe, we don’t know,” JJ shrugged. “I’ve never heard of a creature like this, but there has to be some sort of records of something like it. If not, I could probably set up some sort of protection spells.”

Anti blinked. “Oh yeah, I forgot you could do that.”

“It’s fine, to be fair you did only find out yesterday,” JJ smiled.

“But can you even set up protection from this thing?” Jackie said, looking down at his lap and pulling his fingers. “What if it just slips through your defenses? If it can make illusions, what if it can make you think you set something up, but you didn’t?”

“Well, there has to be a way to double-check,” Schneep said casually.

“And besides, wouldn’t we, like, see him nearby whenever he showed up to trick us?” Anti asked. “So we could like, stab on sight. Arm ourselves, you can all borrow my knives.”

Marvin, who’d been mostly silent this whole conversation, suddenly spoke up. “T’is might sound strange, but bear with me for a moment.” He waited until he was sure the others were paying attention before continuing. “T’is…t’ing t’at’s been following us…what color is his hair?”

Anti rolled his eyes. “What does this have to do with—”

“Answer. The question.” The others had never seen Marvin so serious.

Jackie responded first. “Well, okay, it’s…” He blinked. “It’s…” He frowned, scrunching his eyes closed as he tried to picture the gray man in his mind. “…I…don’t remember.” He could clearly see the man in his mind, yet somehow…that detail was not part of the image. Jackie opened his eyes. “Volt? What about you?”

Schneep crossed his arms, brows furrowing. Gradually, his look of concentration turned to one of discomfort. “I-I do not know. I do not know, how is that possible?”

“Alrigh’,” Marvin stood up, walking from the desk to the living area with the others. “How about how tall he is? Does anyone r’member how tall he is?”

“He’s…” Jackie trailed off. Anti stood up straight, making gestures with his hand like he was measuring someone’s height. Jameson shook his head, baffled. Schneep made an odd choking sound and covered his mouth, eyes wide.

“No, we don’,” Marvin said. “None of us know anyt’ing about what he looks like. Oh, sure, we got the monstrous swathes of it, but we cannae r’member the details. Now, Jackie.” Marvin turned to look at him. “How did t’is man get into your hospital, looking as odd as he does, and have no one even mention it?”

“That…I don’t know,” Jackie said slowly.

“Exactly!” Marvin threw his hand in the air.

“Wait, Marvin, are you saying that this…sort of illusion-casting this person can do,” JJ asked, “could possibly mean he can…make it seem like he’s not there at all? Like, maybe like the Silence from Doctor Who?”

Marvin frowned. “I don’ know what t’at is.”

“Oh. Right. That’s on me, remind me to show you that some time.” JJ laughed nervously. “Anyway, the Silence are…well, they’re sort of supernatural creatures that make it so that, while you’re looking directly at them, you know they’re there and what they are. But when you look away, you forget all about them.”

“Ah. T’en yes, t’ats what I’m tryin’ t’say. He migh’ be able to do somet’ing to t’at effect.”

Schneep visibly paled. “Well, what would we do in that situation? If that was true, then…mein Gott, then he could be anywhere. And we would not even know.”

“But…that doesn’t mean it _would_ be anywhere, right?” Anti’s eyes darted back and forth between the others’ faces.

Everyone was silent.

And then they heard the laughing.

Everyone who’d been sitting down shot to their feet. Anti reached into his jacket and pulled out a handgun. Schneep leapt into a defensive stance, hands half-raised in front of him. Jameson’s eyes changed color to a brighter blue than usual.

“ ~~Lock the doors and close the blinds, we’re going for a ride!~~ ”

“What the fuck?!” Jackie was the first to see him, and practically tripped over himself in an effort to put the chair between himself and the gray man—who was just casually sitting on top of the dining table, one leg folded over the other, as if it was the most natural place in the world for him to be.

Schneep stepped forward. “How did you get into my apartment?” he demanded.

“ ~~You mean you didn’t notice?~~ ” The man pressed a hand to his chest as if he was offended. The attempt at expression was ruined by the grin on his face. “ ~~I was right behind you the entire time, Zaps.~~ ”

“Jesus,” Marvin muttered, inching closer to the rest of the group.

“Yeah, okay, that’s nice to hear,” Anti growled. “But you know what? I don’t care. You are going to get out of here or there’s going to suddenly be a new hole in your head.”

“ ~~Oh, I’m afraid I beat you to the punch there.~~ ” Even though the smile never wavered, the man’s tone suddenly became a lot colder. “ ~~So your threats are poor excuses for threats, just like how you’re a poor excuse of a person. Works out perfectly, you know?~~ ”

Anti took a step back. For a moment, true hurt flashed across his face.

“You have no right to say such things!” Jameson suddenly shouted. “Not when you are just as poor. You’re not even human, why do you have such authority to speak on others? And why should we listen to a distorter of minds?”

The man sat up straight. “ ~~A distorter of minds? I love it, I’m going to use that from now on.~~ ”

“Good try, Jems, but don’t encourage him,” Marvin hissed.

“ ~~Aw, I’m hurt, Marvin!~~ ” The man—Distorter—seemed to smile wider at the way Marvin jumped when he said his name. “ ~~I wouldn’t expect such dismissive words from you!~~ ”

“Wh—” Marvin visibly flinched, stepping back. “What do you…?”

“ ~~Oh well. Guess nothing lasts forever. Unless you make it.~~ ” Distorter stood up. He raised one blackened hand and snapped his fingers, tilting his head to the side. “ ~~ _Smile for me._~~ ”

Something clattered to the floor. Everyone sharply turned to look over at Marvin—Marvin, who had dropped his cane. He’d suddenly gone limp, posture slacking and a blank expression on his face. His eyes were empty.

“ ~~That’s better.~~ ”

“Marvin?” Jameson was by his side before he even knew it, shaking him gently, trying to get a response. To no avail. “Marvin, wh…what…?”

“What…what did you _do?!_ ” Jackie was emboldened by the sight of his friend in distress, forgetting all previous fears about Distorter’s unnatural powers. He rushed to Marvin’s side as well, immediately jumping into assessment mode.

“ ~~He’s fine,~~ ” Distorter dismissed. “ ~~If anything, this is better. You don’t have to worry about anything if you can’t feel anything.~~ ”

“Okay, that is it.” Schneep’s expression was more than stormy—it was outright thunderous. He quickly closed the distance between him and Distorter and grabbed the gray man by the shirt. “I am getting you out of here if you will not leave yourself.”

Distorter seemed untroubled by being grabbed, though maybe that was just his unchanging smile. “ ~~Oh, come on.~~ ” He wrapped a hand around Schneep’s wrist, nails digging into skin. “ ~~The fun part’s just about to start.~~ ”

Everyone tensed. Jameson and Jackie were momentarily distracted by the statement, looking away from Marvin for just a moment. Anti did the opposite: he happened to glance toward Marvin at the exact time the other two looked away. And because of that, he saw when Marvin stiffened, a flash of something—something not exactly friendly—entering his eyes. “Watch out!” Anti cried, suddenly lunging across the room.

The following sequence of events happened very quickly. Marvin bent over, grabbing his cane from where it had fallen to the floor. At the same time, Schneep shrieked and stumbled back, the sleeve of his shirt now shredded as long slices leaked blood through the fabric. Distorter laughed, the nails of his hand dripping red. Immediately after, Marvin stood up and swung his cane until the topper connected solidly with the side of Jameson’s head, who cried out and staggered backwards, falling against the nearest chair. Marvin wound up for another swing at Jackie, but Anti arrived just in time, grabbing the cane and attempting to wrench it out of Marvin’s hands.

Marvin’s head whipped toward Anti. His eyes were unusually wide, and thin streams of blood began to drip from them. He hissed, and instead of trying to pull the cane back toward him, pushed with a surprising amount of force. Anti was shocked enough at the movement to lose his footing, and next thing he knew his head hit the ground and he was lying on the floor. Marvin pressed his advantage—quite literally. He knelt on the floor and began pushing the cane down on Anti’s throat, the length immediately cutting off air supply. Anti made a choked sort of gasp, and tried to push the cane away, but Marvin showed no sign of letting up.

“No!” Jackie sprung into action, grabbing Marvin around the torso and trying to pull him away. Marvin resisted, continuing to press down, but Jackie wasn’t about to give up, and was slowly winning.

Jameson climbed to his feet, pressing a hand to his head where the topper had hit it. There was a bit of warm liquid soaking his hair, but this wasn’t the time to focus on that. He was about to help Jackie, when he heard a cry of pain. He spun around to see Schneep on the floor in the dining area, scrambling backwards and clutching his bleeding arm. He looked unhurt apart from that arm injury, but his head was turning wildly on a swivel, seeming to latch onto things that weren’t there at all. Distorter approached him slowly, his grin wider than ever.

“Oh no you don’t,” Jameson muttered to himself. He cupped his hand and let the magic flow down his arm, until he was holding a handful of swimming blue light. He tossed the light, and it scattered into droplets. The drops arced across the room until they hit Distorter, each drop making a surprisingly solid impact that made him reel back, until he was finally knocked over. Jameson ran to Schneep as soon as Distorter was out of the way, murmuring vague reassurances as he patted him down for further sign of injuries.

Schneep shook his head like he was clearing it of ghosts. “What..?” He blinked several times, looking around.

Distorter stood up in one single motion, flicking away remaining drops of blue magic. “ ~~And here I thought you might be alright, magic man.~~ ”

Jameson threw an arm in front of Schneep, shielding him. “To you? No, I’m afraid not while you’re trying to kill my friends.”

“ ~~Who said I was going to kill all of them?~~ ” Distorter spread his arms. “ ~~What would that do for me, hmm?~~ ”

Jameson’s hand curled into a fist, streams of magic responding to the motion. “Then what do you want?”

For a moment, Distorter’s smile shrank. “ ~~I just want companionship. Friends. Well, and to get rid of anyone who’s going to stop me from getting that. Which, unfortunately, includes some of your—~~ ”

_Bang!_

Distorter staggered back, looking down at the sudden red staining his shirt, the vivid crimson standing out against the gray. Jameson blinked, then looked over to were the other three had been scuffling in the living area. Jackie had his arms wrapped tight around Marvin, who was squirming and struggling to get free. Anti was half-standing, half-kneeling, his hand extended and pointing his handgun directly at Distorter. “There’s more where that came from,” he said.

Distorter stared at him. And then he began laughing again. “ ~~Weren’t you paying attention earlier?! I told you that wouldn’t do anything! Or did you not bother to check?~~ ” His head turned to the side, farther than it should’ve been able to, with a _crack._ Everyone in the room was able to see that which none of them had, somehow, never noticed before. A neat hole in the side of Distorter’s head, going all the way through and dripping thick red blood.

Everyone stared; they couldn’t help it. It was like a car wreck. Some things you just couldn’t tear your eyes from, no matter how gruesome it was. “…how?” Jackie finally whispered.

“ ~~You can’t kill what’s already dead.~~ ” Distorter chuckled. “ ~~But I’ll give you points for trying.This has been fun, hasn’t it? Hasn’t this been fun? I can’t wait until _next time._~~ ”

None of them could say what happened next. All they knew was that one moment Distorter was there, the next their heads were filled with fuzz, and he was gone.

Anti was the first to recover. “What…was that?” He scrambled to his feet. “Where did he go?!”

“That…really happened, yes?” Schneep asked.

“Yes, it did,” JJ said, nodding. “I’m not sure where he—”

A scream. Marvin pushed Jackie away, practically falling over himself in trying to get away. He ended up crawling over to the nearest chair and pressing his back to it, wiping at the trails of blood on his face and breathing quickly.

“Marvin!” JJ grabbed Schneep by the hand and pulled him to his feet before running over to where Marvin was and kneeling next to him. “Are you okay?”

“No! What? No, what? T'at wasn’—no!” Marvin was pulling at his hair with one hand, while using the other to grab for his cane. He was shaking his head.

“Hey, I know it’s a lot, but it’s going to be okay,” JJ said in a gentle voice. “Do you need anything right now? Anything I can get you?”

A strange sort of half-whimper half-yell escaped Marvin’s throat. He was holding the cane close to his body, running his fingers along the designs in the topper. “I-I dunna—I dunnae. I-I dun…t’at didn’ feel…good.”

Jackie had appeared at one point, leaning over JJ’s shoulder. He pursed his lips. “Hang on a second, let me try…” He reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a small black cube with various attachments in red. He handed it to Marvin. “Here, just look at the for a bit, okay?”

Marvin seemed doubtful, but he took it anyway. Within only a few moments he was engrossed in the various parts of the cube. He seemed to especially like the switches and the rolling ball. JJ looked at Jackie and gave him a smile, which Jackie returned before standing up to go look at Schneep’s injured arm.

* * *

It took a few minutes, but eventually they all settled down. They were all back in the living area, with Jackie and Schneep on the couch, Anti in one of the chairs and Marvin in the other, JJ standing nearby Marvin’s chair. Jackie had found Schneep’s first aid kit in one of the kitchen cabinets, and managed to bandage up the cuts on Schneep’s arm.

“I’m going to say it: I’m super paranoid that he’s just…somewhere.” Anti looked around the apartment.

“I think he left,” JJ said. “Otherwise why would he make that comment about ‘next time’?”

Anti nodded. “Good point. Still…maybe he’s always there. Always watching.”

“Please don’,” Marvin muttered. JJ and Jackie glared at Anti.

Schneep cleared his throat. “Marvin…are you ready to talk about…what that was back there?”

“I-I don’ know what it was,” Marvin said simply. “It was just…t'ere was not’ing. Just a daze. But also, t’ere was…I-I don’ know. An…urge…to do certain t’ings. An I know it was coming from him.”

“Mind control?” Jackie asked. He looked at JJ. “Is that possible?”

“Um…” JJ folded his arms. “I know that there are spells out there that can do that. And strange creatures that can influence your thoughts. But I’ve never even heard of something like…him.”

“Um, Marvin?” Anti asked tentatively. “Is it okay to ask how you know that…thing?”

Marvin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’ know _how_ I know him. I just know he’s familiar. I don’ r’member much, and I know less. I don’t even know how I got to now—to here!”

Schneep blinked. “I’m sorry, did you say—”

“Not!…now,” Marvin interrupted, opening his eyes. “I’ll explain it to you t’ree anot’er time, righ’ now it’s…too many t’ings.”

Jackie nodded. He looked around the room quickly. Everyone was tense, uneasy, and/or upset. “Well!” He clapped his hands. “I think that’s too many things for all of us today. We need to do something to calm down.”

They all looked at him in surprise. But none of them disagreed. Or, well, Anti did, but he just liked to disagree. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Don’t you need to get home soon?”

“Rama and Michelle could do with some time together,” Jackie shrugged. “Why? Are you worried about Will?”

“I mean, I paid the sitter for the whole afternoon because I didn’t know how long this would take, so I guess I could technically stay a bit longer?”

“Good. So we’re going to do that.” Jackie stood up and walked over to the TV. He began rummaging through the cabinet under it. “Trust me, sometimes you just need a distraction. And I think we all need one right now. I don’t know what kind of movies people like, so you’re going to have to tell me so we can pick something everyone likes.”

It’s surprising how quickly a mood can change.

It’s surprising, sometimes, how easy it is to bounce back to reality after being in a grayed-out zone for a while.

Maybe all it really takes are five friends laughing and shouting so loud that you can’t really hear to movie, until someone makes popcorn and someone else takes out the spare blankets, and eventually everything seems right again.


	7. There's a Cat Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a short break from the current problems facing the group, Marvin gets a cat.

“I don’ recognize t’is part of town,” Marvin muttered, staring out the car window at the streets whizzing by. Not too intently though, he still wasn’t used to how fast cars went now. “Are you goin’ t’finally tell me what we’re doin’ here?”

“Hang on a moment, we’re almost there, just let me park.” JJ carefully maneuvered the small car into an empty space, turning it off with a twist of the keys. “Alright, here we are!”

Marvin looked out the front window at the store they’d parked in front of, reading the name emblazoned on the sign. He squinted. “Is…is t’is a pet store?”

“Surprise!” JJ smiled, accompanied by a joyful fluttering of fingers. “I wanted to get you a pet!”

Marvin blinked. “Why?”

JJ’s smile faltered a bit before he recovered his cheer. “Well, I thought it would help you adjust to this new…environment. And also…” His joyful expression fell once more, becoming serious. “I sometimes worry about you being home all by yourself. It might get lonely, you know, and I can’t keep asking the others to stop by even though they keep saying they’d be happy to.”

“Oh, so you’re saying t’at I can’ be alright wit’out you?” Marvin chuckled as JJ suddenly started stammering excuses. “It’s alright, I know what y’mean. Are you sure about t’is? Pets can be difficult to take care of. I’m okay wit’out one.”

“Well, yes, but also…small animals are cute.”

Another chuckle. “Alright. I s’pose I can’ change your mind once you’ve got it made up. Lead the way.”

JJ paused. “I’d hoped you be a bit more enthusiastic, to be honest.” Marvin didn’t answer, just shrugged. JJ exhaled a puff of air, then continued. “Well, we can’t do anything just sitting in the car. Come on.” He opened the door and stepped out, and Marvin soon followed.

The inside of the pet store was about what you’d expect, a main reception desk and walls covered in cute posters about the adoption process and how to take care of your animals. A few workers wearing blue shirts and nametags were milling about. One immediately walked up to JJ and Marvin. “Hi, can I help you?” she asked.

JJ looked over at Marvin, who gave an indifferent shrug. “Well, we’d like to adopt today,” JJ explained.

“Oh that’s wonderful! Do you know what type of animal you’re looking for? We have dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, snakes, hamsters and gerbils—”

“Cat,” Marvin jumped in before she could list every possible pet that existed. Yeah, cats could take care of themselves. He didn’t have to devote himself to that.

“I’m a cat person, myself,” the worker—her nametag read Kendra—said with a laugh. “If you would follow me through this door I can show you our cat kennels.

Marvin was expecting walls lined with cat carriers, and there were a few side rooms of that. But Kendra instead led them down a hall to a large room with wide windows that was entirely taken up by cat condos and trees, multilayered carpeted platforms with scratching poles and little houses to hide in. There were even a few mounted on walls. Around the perimeter of the rooms were benches for visitors and baskets of cat toys. Naturally, there were cats everywhere, of all shapes and sizes. Brown, white, black, tabby, calico, short-hair, long-hair, and every -hair in between. There were already some people inside interacting with them; what looked like a mom and two kids and an elderly couple.

“This is our playpen. Not all our cats are out right now, but this is a good place to get to know them,” Kendra explained. “If you don’t find one who appeals to you, I can take you into their actual kennels. We also have a selection of toys, beds, and other entertainment items, if you want to check those out.”

“Well,” JJ started, “we might not—”

“Jems, you can go look at those,” Marvin interrupted. “I’m goin’ t’stay in here for a while and see what happens.”

JJ gave him a look, but then said, “Okay, if you insist. Come get us if you need anything. Miss, if you can show me where that is…”

JJ left the room with Kendra, and Marvin immediately walked over and sat on a bench in a corner, near one of the cat trees. He watched the others in the room play with the cats, petting them and picking them up and dangling cat toys in front of their faces. That all seemed well and good, he supposed. But he didn’t really feel any urge to join in himself. So he just watched.

There was a slight movement in the corner of his eyes. He glanced over at the cat tree nearby. There was a pair of green eyes hidden inside the shadows of one of those little house-structures that sat on the tree. They were looking at him. Marvin stared at the eyes for a while more, then looked away, turning back to the room at large. He watched the pair of children entertain a black kitten with a laser pointer for a while. Weren’t they supposed to be bad luck? A cat like that would need a home, maybe if he had to get one he could pick that one up. But didn’t kittens require special care?

There was another movement. Marvin looked back over to the cat tree to see one had climbed out and hopped to the ground. It was mostly shades of brown and tan, with some darker brown stripes. Its muzzle and chest were white. Marvin presumed that its belly and paws were white as well, but given how it was sitting in that “loaf” position, and how its fur was extremely long and poofy, Marvin couldn’t exactly see its paws. Overall, it looked a bit like a burnt marshmallow. A marshmallow that was staring directly at Marvin.

Marvin, in turn, blinked at it. “What is it?” Obviously, the cat did not answer, and after it didn’t move for a while Marvin turned away again. But only a minute later, there was a warm, soft ball pressing next to his leg. He startled, and looked down to see the cat was now a ball of fluff sitting next to him on the bench. He raised an eyebrow. “What? D’you want attention? I can’ really tell, I don’ speak cat body language. I have trouble enough with the human kind.”

The cat kept staring at him with its big green eyes. After a moment, he gently set his hand on the cat’s back. When there was no reaction, he slowly began petting the length of it. The cat squinted its eyes, and after a while, started purring. “You wanted t’at? Well, I don’ mind. You’re very soft, a lot of fluff. Pleasant to touch. And you’re a han’some cat as well.” After a while of petting, Marvin stalled. He hesitated, then started petting the cat’s head.

With a stall in the purring, the cat opened its mouth wide and yawned. Then it shook itself, causing Marvin to sharply withdraw his hand, and climbed to its feet, stretching. Marvin thought it would leave next, but instead it padded even closer and clambered onto his lap, standing there. “Oh!” Marvin gasped, surprised. “Y’could warn a man first.”

The cat kept eye contact, sitting on his lap. And now that it was out of the “loaf” position, Marvin noticed something. He was right about the belly and paws being white, but also…while its left front leg was as expected, its right front leg ended in a stump. Marvin blinked. “Oh, I see. Y’have trouble in t’at area, then? Well, you’re not alone in the world, Mr. cat.” He reached out and scratched the cat below its ears. It squinted its eyes, then it stood up again, walked closer, and vaulted onto its two hind legs, placing its front paw on Marvin’s chest. “Hey! T’is is a nice jacket, don’ get your fur all over it,” Marvin chuckled, maintaining the ear-scratching.

Another slow blink from the cat. This time, followed by a soft sound, a small “mrrp.”

“Oh my goodness,” Marvin whispered, eyes wide. “T’at was the best sound.” His chest was suddenly light and bouncy inside. “Okay, you’re comin’ wit’ me.” He scooped up the cat, which didn’t wiggle at all as he carried it across the room, out the door of the playpen and into the hallway. From there, it was luckily only a short wandering before he found an open archway that led to a room full of various pet products, and as he walked inside he caught sight of JJ and the worker from before, Kendra. She was holding what a leash and talking to him. “—once they’re harness-trained you can take them outside for walks, like you can with dogs. But of course, training takes—” The worker glanced over as Marvin walked inside the room. Her eyes widened. “Sir, you can’t take the cats out of their kennel area!”

“Why not?” Marvin asked. “T’is one is doin’ fine.”

JJ looked over, and the moment he saw the bundle of fluff in Marvin’s arm his face lit up. “Did you find one you like, Marvin?”

“Well, I’d say t’is pretty kitty found me, act’ally.” Marvin bounced the cat a bit. “Walked up to me.”

JJ gasped, covering his open mouth with a hand. “That’s adorable,” he whispered.

Kendra seemed to have recovered from the shock of seeing a cat in an area it wasn’t supposed to be. “That’s Trio,” she said with a smile. “He’s a rescue. Got hit by a car, unfortunately, and a stranger brought him here. He’s a five-years-old Siberian, and he’s a pretty quiet cat. Liable to snuggle with you while you’re sitting, or even sleeping in bed. He’ll go after laser pointers and other toys, but not as enthusiastically as other cats.”

“T’at sounds wonderful,” Marvin said, distracted by the fact that the cat was now pressing his face into Marvin’s neck. “Trio’s an odd name, why is it?”

“Well, because of the…ah…you know…his, ah…situation…” Kendra seemed reluctant to continue, especially when Marvin’s head shot back toward her with a hard stare.

“I understan’ t’at people often name cats after t’eir features,” he said slowly. “But you didn’ see any problem with t’at particular name?” You know, like the only thing unique about this cat was his legs. Like that was the only thing about him that mattered.

“I didn’t name him,” Kendra hurried to say. “And it’s only temporary, if you adopt him, you can change it.”

JJ looked at Marvin, clearly trying to keep a calm expression. “Do you want to? Adopt him, I mean?”

Marvin looked down at the cat’s tiny face. “Y…yes,” he said, his voice a bit softer than normal. He looked back up at JJ’s excited face and frowned. “You knew this would happen, didn’ you?”

“That you’d get emotionally attached to one and love them? Well, I hoped it,” JJ said, a big grin on his face. “I know you were reluctant, but you’re reluctant about a lot of things, Marvin. A cat’ll be good for you.”

“Yes, yes, alright,” Marvin rolled his eyes. “Let’s finish t’is process so we can take him home already.”

About a half hour later, Marvin and JJ were back in the car. There was now a cat bed, a scratching post, and other cat materials in the back seat. Marvin, in the passenger seat, had a cat carrier on his lap with a burnt marshmallow-colored ball of fluff inside. The ball of fluff had a new green collar with a silver label, and was meowing intently at Marvin. “It’s only for a little while,” Marvin responded. “I t’ink we live close by. T’ough don’ ask me how we get home, I don’ know.” More meowing. “Calm down, Mister, it’ll be fine. I can give you a new toy to distract you, if ye want.”

“Did you just call the cat ‘Mister’?” JJ asked, amused, as he started the car.

“Yes, his name is Mr. Fluffington, and he deserves your respect,” Marvin said without even looking up.

“I see. Well, tell Fluffington it’s nice to meet him.”

“ _Mr._ Fluffington, who do you t’ink you are?”

JJ laughed. “Yes, alright then, Mr. Fluff.”

Marvin looked back down at the newly christened Mr. Fluffington. “Jems says it’s nice to meet you. Ye’ll be seein’ a lot of him.” Fluffington meowed. Marvin grinned. “He likes you.”

“I’m glad. And I’m glad you like him too.”

“I wasn’ expectin’ it, if I’ll be honest.” Marvin unzipped the lid of the carrier just enough to reach inside. “But…I t’ink I’ll be happy to have him around.”

Mr. Fluffington nuzzled Marvin’s hand and he laughed. JJ smiled as he watched. He knew this would be a good idea. These two seemed like they would get along perfectly.


	8. Fever Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin gets really sick. While JJ figures out how to handle this, Marvin thinks he's beginning to remember something...though it's hard to sort it all out.

The final bit of the rehearsal was coming up, and energy was running low. As it always was, nobody likes doing the same thing over and over, even if that thing was running through a magic show. Maybe _especially_ if that was a magic show, where stress was running high to make sure every trick was going right.

“Alright, everyone, let’s take a ten-minute break,” Jameson called out, pulling off his mask and rubbing his forehead where the plastic had dug in. “When we get back we’ll do a test run with sound.”

Darla, the stage manager, nodded. “Alright, take a ten everyone!” she repeated. “Hey lighting! That includes you too!” Then she turned to JJ. “Hey speaking of lighting, you should ask your friend in the audience if it looks alright from the house.”

“Will do.” JJ spared a moment to scan the rows of seats, making sure he knew where Marvin was sitting. Sure enough, Marvin was smack dab in the middle of the seats. JJ waved at him before going backstage, finding the small stairwell that connected to the floor of the auditorium.

Marvin had somehow managed to find a small piece of plywood, probably from prop storage backstage, and set it across the arms of the chairs next to him to make a simple table. JJ slid into the seat next to him, the one that wasn’t covered by the plywood. “So, what do you think so far?” he asked. Then he glanced at the makeshift table surface. “…are you playing solitaire?”

“Techn’cally I’m playin’ Good Neighbors, but sometimes it’s called Monte Carlo Solitaire, so I can see the confusion,” Marvin said. “See, the cards are in a five-card square. Y’have to match two cards of the same value t’at are next to each other. Up-down, left-right, or diagonal. T’en you discard the pair, and fill in the square wit’ cards from the deck, movin’ left and up.” Marvin paused. “Oh I’m sorry, you asked me somet’ing before t’at. To answer, it looks to be goin’ smoothly.”

A smile teased the corner of JJ’s mouth, making his mustache twitch. “You brought your deck of cards to rehearsal?”

“Well, yes. What am I s’pposed to do when I don’ have anyt’ing to do?” Marvin swept the cards into a pile, patting them into a single deck, then finally looked over at JJ. “Did y’know t’at every time you shuffle a deck you likely create a brand-new combination of cards? Never before seen. Because t’ere are so many possibilities, odds are more in favor of you makin’ somet’ing new instead of anyt’ing else.” 

“Yes, I think I heard that somewhere. That’s fascinating,” JJ nodded. Marvin would do this sometimes, dump a bunch of information about something all at once. Normally JJ would listen to him for a while, but right now he had a point to make. He could ask him again later. “So Darla wanted me to ask you if the lighting looked alright. Does it?”

“I didn’ notice anyt’ing off, no.” Marvin looked over at the stage. “‘Twas very impressive, if you ask me. But t’ere’s a chance I’m easily impressed. Looks jus’ as magic as the actual wizardry.”

“Oh no, I’m no good at light magic. That’s why I have talented people doing it for me.” JJ smiled. “I’ll tell them you said that, though.”

Marvin flashed a grin, but it faded unusually quickly. He was absentmindedly playing with the deck of cards, taking ones from the back and putting them in front in a repetitive motion.

“Hey…” JJ cleared his throat. “Are you…alright?”

“Why wouldn’ I be?”

JJ shifted in the seat. “I don’t know. But…we never did talk about what happened last week—”

Marvin stiffened, and JJ instantly knew he’d gone too far. He could practically see him swinging the mental gates shut. “T’ere’s not much to talk about. T’ere was a demon. He came after us. I let slip to ev'ryone else t’at I was from the past. T’at’s all.”

“Alright,” JJ backed down. Maybe he could’ve handled that more delicately…clearly it was still a bit close to the surface for Marvin.

And why wouldn’t it be? That…creature—Distorter—somehow got in his head with only a few simple words, turning him against the others instantly. That was sure to unnerve anyone. And the conversation the next day hadn’t exactly helped. Having to tell Jackie, Schneep, and Anti the truth about where Marvin actually came from had been…awkward. Jackie seemed to accept it strangely easily, saying it explained a lot of things, but the other two had many, _many_ questions, which simply couldn’t be answered.

 _How did you get here? “_ I don’ know.”

 _Was it magic?_ “I don’ know.”

 _Can you go back?_ “I don’ know.”

Because the simple truth was that Marvin had no memory of traveling through time at all. From his perspective, he was in 1928 one day, and then all of a sudden nearly ninety years had passed.

“If y’want advice,” Marvin suddenly said, bringing JJ back to the current moment, “I t’ink one of the spotlights might be slightly out of alignment, because it looked a little bit more left—stage left—t’an it was supposed to be. I don’ know if the lighting crew know t’at.”

“I’ll let them know,” JJ assured him.

“How much longer will t’is last?”

“It’s hard to tell.” JJ shrugged. “It’s supposed to end at seven, but we might go over.”

Marvin sighed. “Alrigh’, good to know. If t’at’s the case, I’m goin’ t’start playing a round of Pyramid.” He began shuffling the card deck.

JJ stood. “I’m going to get something from the vending machines, you want a snack?

“One of t’ose bubbly drinks? Not the brown sodas, the orange ones.”

“Got it. I’ll be back.”

* * *

The rehearsal ended right on time, which was good, because when JJ and Marvin went to head out to the theatre parking lot, they found the sky was full of drifting white flakes.

“Oh it’s snowing!” JJ gasped, smiling wide. “It’s perfect weather for Christmas coming up.”

“Jems, it’s the middle of November,” Marvin mumbled, eyes tracking the falling clumps of flakes. “Y’cannae wait until the twelve days act’ally start? Or at least ‘til the first.”

“Oh, alright. But still, it’s snowing!” JJ clapped his hands. “Usually it’s just rainy in the winter. Can you blame me for getting excited?”

“I s’pose not.” Marvin wasn’t as excited. Snowing lead to snow on the ground, snow on the ground led to ice, ice led to slipping…he gripped the top of his cane tight.

As if picking up on his worry, JJ reached out and gently grabbed Marvin’s arm. “C’mon, let’s go. I parked a bit far away, we should hurry.” He sighed. “I knew we should’ve brought coats. Stupid incorrect forecast.”

Luckily nothing happened on the way to the car, except for getting snowed on. But it was once they arrived when the problems started. “…I did take the keys, right?” JJ asked, searching his pockets.

“Well how would we have gotten here if y’hadn’?” Marvin pointed out.

“I mean back outside. I put them in my pocket, right?” JJ turned around and looked back the way they came. “They didn’t fall out, did they?”

“If you’re sure they’re not in your pocket, they must’ve,” Marvin reasoned. “Unless you left them inside.”

“That’s a possibility,” JJ mumbled. He scrunched his face in thought. “Guess we’ll have to go back and look.”

“ _You_ go.” Marvin lightly jabbed JJ’s side with the end of his cane. “I already braved the slippery death hazard, once is enough.”

JJ frowned. “You sure? We can’t get in the car, so you’ll be standing out here…getting snowed on.”

“I’d rather t’at t’an fall. You go ahead, I’ll wait here.”

“You’re _sure?_ ”

Marvin sighed. “Yes. I’m sure. I apprec'ate your worry, but it’ll be fine.”

JJ still looked uncertain, but he nodded. “You have your phone? You can call me if anything happens?”

“Yes, I know how to use the call feature.” Marvin jabbed him again, but JJ narrowly dodged. “Now hurry. The sooner ye get t’is done with, the sooner we’ll be home.”

“Okay, okay.” JJ started heading back. “I’ll be right back, don’t worry!”

“I won’!” Marvin said.

Marvin knew there was no winning in this situation. He goes back across the parking lot, odds were he’d slip and might break something. He stays by the car, he’d probably catch a cold, or otherwise end up sick. So it was really a matter of choosing which one he’d rather deal with.

He slumped down the side of the car and sat directly on the parking lot asphalt, pressing his back against the tire. At least this way he didn’t have to keep walking.

There was a soft sound nearby, and Marvin’s head whipped in that direction, only to see a lump of snow falling from a nearby tree branch. He didn’t relax. What if something caused that, other than accumulating snow particles? He pulled his cane onto his lap and gripped it tight.

There had been a bunch of crew members at the rehearsal. If it was a person, it was probably just one of them. Yet Marvin couldn’t keep his eyes from darting around, looking for a smile, a hint of bloody tears…

By the time Jameson got back, he was shivering from more than just the cold.

* * *

The next day, JJ wandered downstairs sometime around noon, and found Marvin sitting at the dining room table, still in his pajamas. An unusual sight to begin with, as Marvin wasn’t one to wear sleepwear for anything other than…well, sleeping. It was made even odder by the fact that Marvin looked like he just woke up. At noon. When the latest he usually slept was ten.

JJ stalled, standing in the doorway. “Um. Hi Marv.”

“H’llo,” Marvin mumbled. He blinked slowly. “I put the kettle on, hope y’don’ mind. Didn’…need it or anyt’in’.”

“No, I don’t usually make tea at lunchtime. And…neither do you.”

“I know…it’s jus’…cold.” Marvin yawned. “Used the last of the white tea, too, hope y’don’…mind.”

It actually wasn’t particularly cold. JJ had made sure to turn up the heat when he got up that morning, to counteract the chill brought by the snow. He approached Marvin, reaching out his hand. “May I—oh!” Marvin suddenly leaned his head forward until his forehead had fallen into JJ’s outstretched palm. JJ hissed, concern etched on his face. “Marvin, you’re burning up.”

“Yea…I figured.” Marvin closed his eyes. “Mh…your hands are cold. They always seem it, is t’at part of the…the ice? Ice and water.”

“I’m not sure. Maybe.” JJ slowly withdrew his hand. Marvin’s head tilted a bit when the support was removed. “Marvin…besides being cold, do you feel off in any other way?”

“Mm…’m a bit dizzy,” Marvin admitted. “An’ me legs hurt, which is odd…us’ally they’re jus’…tired, and don’ work proper.” His eyelids fluttered. “Hurts t’look around, too.”

JJ bit back a curse. “Marvin, you should go back to bed.”

“No, ‘m fine. I slept late enough.” Now, normally at this point, Marvin would try to stand up and walk away, to prove how not-sick he was. JJ knew this, it had happened often enough. But Marvin didn’t even attempt to move. And that was a bad sign.

“Marvin, I think this is serious,” JJ said, his voice grave. “How did you manage to make tea?”

“Same way I always do,” Marvin shrugged. “I fed Mister, too. Might’ve spilled the cat food, though.”

“Just—just go back to bed, okay? Please? I can bring you the tea later.”

Marvin looked up at JJ, then nodded. “Alrigh’, since you’re so worried.” He grabbed his cane, and after a moment got to his feet, though he was swaying. JJ wanted to help, but he knew that wouldn’t end well. Marvin would just insist he could do it anyway. At least they’d moved his bedroom to the first floor, so there were no stairs to worry about. “What’re you goin’ t’do? Did ye come in here to…I dunnae, make food, probably.”

He’d actually planned on making a quick lunch before going back upstairs to continue studying the spell he was working on, but those plans had gone out the window. “I’m going to just—just check on things in here, and then I’m going to call Jackie,” JJ explained. “Then I’ll meet you in there, okay?”

“Alrigh’.”

JJ watched Marvin make his way down the hall, leaning heavily on the wall. Once he was sure he was in his room, JJ examined the kitchen and dining room. The kettle was on the stove, but the stove actually wasn’t on, and there was a puddle of water on the counter. The cupboard where they kept the food for the cat was wide open, the bag tipped over. Judging by the state of it, Mr. Fluffington had a great day with that. JJ cleaned up the messes, turned the stove on, and then called Jackie. He was probably at work, but JJ would prefer to bring symptoms to a doctor instead of the Internet.

After four rings, the call was picked up. “What’s up, Jays?” Jackie asked by way of greeting.

“Marvin’s sick again,” JJ got straight to the point. “I…I think it’s bad.”

“Really? Why?”

“Well, he didn’t protest too much when I told him to go back to bed.”

“ _Oh._ ”

“Exactly.”

“What’re the symptoms? How’s he feeling? Anything happen recently that might have caused something?”

JJ relayed what Marvin told him, as well as the high temperature. “I think…last night, after rehearsal, we walked out to the car but I forgot my keys, and he insisted he’d rather wait outside instead of walking across the parking lot again. It was snowing.”

“How long was it before you got back?”

“I don’t know…thirty, forty minutes?” JJ squirmed. He couldn’t believe he’d left him out there for that long.

“Okay, hopefully it’s just a fever,” Jackie surmised. “But keep an eye on him, in case it turns out to be something worse. Also, can you take his temperature?”

“Yes, just give me a minute, I need to find the thermometer.”

A few minutes later, JJ walked into Marvin’s room with the first aid kit they kept in the bathroom. Marvin was lying on the bed under the comforter. His hand was flung out, resting on an open book on the nightstand, but he was staring up at the ceiling, not even attempting to read. The cat, Mr. Fluffington, was in there too, curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed.

“Hey Marvin,” JJ said. “Jackie told me to take your temperature.”

Marvin didn’t look at him. “How d’you do that?”

“Ah, I just need to put this under your tongue.” JJ held up the thermometer.

“Alrigh’.” Marvin pushed himself into a sitting position. “Let’s do t’is fast.”

The minute the temperature taking was don, Marvin lied back down and closed his eyes. JJ bit his lip, concerned. Marvin’s skin was a lot more flushed than it had been when he last saw him. He picked up the phone again; thankfully Jackie hadn’t hung up. “Okay, I got it.”

“So? What’s the temperature?” Jackie prompted.

“Ah…” JJ squinted at the digital readout. “Forty point three degrees.”

“I’m sorry, _what?!_ ”

JJ had to hold the phone away from his ear. “40.3. Guess that would round down to 40? Is that bad?”

“You need to get him to the hospital.” Jackie’s tone was one JJ had never heard before; there was an absolute, no-nonsense bite to his flat statement.

“What? We can’t—is it really that…? I know your body temperature is supposed to be 37 degrees, it’s only a little bit higher.”

“When it’s the inside of your _body,_ full of sensitive organs and shit,a few degrees means a lot!” Jackie hissed. “40 degrees is a high-grade fever, and yeah, that’s _bad._ In fact, that’s the higher end of that grade, any higher and it’s an emergency. If this is just the first day, then it could easily rise to that emergency state. You need to get him attention.”

JJ lowered the phone for a moment. “Hey, ah, Marvin?”

“Hm?” Marvin opened one eye and looked at him.

“Jackie says you should go to the hospital.”

Marvin suddenly shot up, then swayed and pressed a hand to his head. “No, we can’t!”

“I know, it’s going to suck, but this—”

“Jems, they’re goin’ t’ask for records,” Marvin interrupted, eyes wide. “They’re goin t’ask for…for medical…they’re going to know somet’in’s wrong. I don’ have a birth cert’ficate, how can I have t’ings like t’at?”

JJ stared at him, then raised the phone again. “Hey Jackie, is the hospital going to ask for medical records?”

“I mean, yes, we’ll need them to— _oh._ Oh.” Jackie paused. “Normally I wouldn’t encourage forgery, but—”

“I don’t think we have time for that, to be honest,” JJ said. “Maybe for the next time, but for now? I mean, we can try to get things ready for in case this goes downhill, but not today, or probably even tomorrow. And I can’t magic things like that up, so don’t ask.”

“Shit.” There was a long silence on Jackie’s end, then a deep breath. “Okay, if it’s going to be like this, you can keep him home. But you need to stay with him. If you have any ibuprofen, have him take two or three tablets. Have him drink lots of water, maybe get a fan or something. And for god’s sake, get him out of those long-sleeve shirts he likes, it’ll only make everything worse.”

“I can do that,” JJ said, nodding as he mentally took notes.

“Great. I can drop by tomorrow, or the day after, worst-case scenario. Just check on things in person.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll see you then, then. Bye.”

JJ ended the call, looking back over at Marvin, who was once again lying down. “So, you definitely need to stay in bed. This is…serious. You’re not dying or anything,” JJ hurried to add when he saw Marvin’s eyes widen. “It’s just…bad. I’m going to stay home, if you need anything.”

Marvin frowned. “Don’ y'have anot’er rehearsal in a few days?”

“I can cancel it.”

“Y’don’ have to.”

“I want to,” JJ said firmly. 

Marvin stared at him, not saying anything for a moment. Then he nodded. “Thank you, Jems.”

“It’s no problem,” JJ assured him. “Now get some rest. I’m going to go see what we can do to make this easier for you.”

Marvin mumbled something, then closed his eyes.

JJ exhaled quietly. He could manage this. And hopefully, Marvin wouldn’t get any worse. It was already bad enough as it was.

* * *

Marvin couldn’t get to sleep that night. Part of him wanted to blame that on staying in bed all day, but despite that, he felt the heavy weight of dreamland pulling at his eyes. He probably would’ve fallen asleep under normal circumstances. But these weren’t normal circumstances.

Despite having chills lasting the whole day, distracting to the point where he could hardly concentrate on his book, Marvin now felt like he was inside a lit furnace. Even though JJ had brought in an electric fan and forced Marvin to exchange his dress shirt for one of his T-shirts, Marvin couldn’t find a space or position where it felt any remotely cooler. And not for lack of trying. He kept tossing and turning, wrapping his sheets around his legs. At some point he must’ve kicked off his comforter, but he didn’t remember doing that.

He opened his eyes, looking at the handy digital clock on the nightstand. The glowing numbers wavered, shimmering like a mirage before he finally latched onto a one, a zero, and a three. Oh, was it ten-thirty already? Shouldn’t he be getting up? Why was it so dark?

The lumps and shapes in the darkness of the room didn’t look familiar at all. There was a person there, Marvin thought. “Stop starin’ at me,” he mumbled, turning his head to the other side of the room. 

The doorway loomed large. It was coming closer. It was going to swallow him! Marvin scooted backwards, and then suddenly fell a few feet to the floor. He blinked, looking around the darkness.

It was raining. The water was pouring down from the sky, landing on him. Marvin scowled at the sky. He shouldn’t have left the house without his hat at this time of year. Now his hair was going to get wet. But that should really be the last of his concerns at this moment. He didn’t recognize the street at all. Or he did, it almost looked familiar, the shapes of some of the buildings, but it looked…transformed.

“Are you lost?”

Marvin looked around for the source of the voice.

“You look lost.”

There was a man on the street. What did he look like? Marvin couldn’t tell. But he was wearing odd clothes; Marvin had never seen that type of hat before.

“‘m fine,” Marvin said.

“No you’re not.”

His head felt full of soup. Thoughts were swirling about like someone was stirring thick broth. Why was he so hot? He was sweating, hair sticking to his forehead. No, that was the rain. It was raining.

“Come here.” The man grabbed his hand. “I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

Marvin shook his head, mumbling a protest. He…didn’t he have to be somewhere? Wasn’t he going to an audition? How did he get here, to this strange street? At night too, when it had been daytime just a few minutes before?

The man turned to smile at him, flashing a smile. No, he’d always been smiling. Little alarm bells went off in Marvin’s mind. “’m fine,” Marvin insisted. He tried to pull his hand free, but the man had it in a tight grip. That only made Marvin try all the harder to get it away.

“Shh, it’s going to be okay. Just follow me.” What did his voice sound like? How come he couldn’t figure out what it sounded like? Something was wrong.

“No, I-I need to…to…” Thoughts were fuzzy, starting to blur. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He was in a different street now, why was he here? It was even darker, how much time had passed? What was happening?

Something hit Marvin’s face.

“…wh?” Marvin opened his eyes. And at that moment, he realized he closed them at some point. Weak early morning light was filtering through the curtains, he was lying on the floor, and his cat was on his chest. Mr. Fluffington blinked at him, then bumped his face against Marvin’s cheek. He must’ve done that earlier, too, which was what got Marvin’s attention and woke him up.

Marvin groaned. “I…fell asleep…I t’ink.” He didn’t remember it happening. And not in the way you never remember the moment when you drifted off, but there really hadn’t been a difference between the waking world and…whatever just happened. It felt like he was awake. And he still felt just as tired. But then he had that dream…

“…must’ve been a dream,” Marvin said, absentmindedly scratching Mr. Fluffington behind the ears. But…it had felt like more than that. It had felt…familiar. What was the word? Deja vu? Yes, exactly. Like reliving a memory he’d forgotten.

Mr. Fluffington purred, then sank down into a loaf position, closing his eyes and resting his head against Marvin’s neck. Marvin sighed. “Y’couldn’ have waited until I got back ‘nto bed?” Of course, Fluffington didn’t answer, but he settled into place almost as if showing how much he refused to move. Marvin sighed. “Alrigh’…guess I’m stuck.” He looked around. The nightstand was right by his arm, if he could just…reach up and…

His hand clumsily felt around the surface until he hit something, knocking it down to the floor. His phone. Marvin picked it up, unlocked it one-handedly, and dialed JJ’s number.

It rang forever before it was picked up. “Marvin? D’you need something?”

“I don’ know. Mister is on me.” Marvin pet the cat’s head while he talked. “I can’ move, but it’s…uncomfort’ble.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“Not’ing. Just letting you know so y’don’ t’ink it’s odd when you come t’check later an’ I’m still here.” 

A long silence. “Marvin, where are you?” JJ asked, sounding like he didn’t want to know the answer.

“On the floor.”

JJ sighed so loudly that it could be heard through the speakers without much interference. “I’m coming down there.”

“T’at’s fair.”

* * *

Jackie dropped by the house around two-thirty, bringing a surprise second guest with him. He knocked on Marvin’s door, waiting for a vague approval before opening it and coming inside. “Hey, Marv!” Jackie smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“Exactly how you t’ink I ‘m.” Marvin opened his eyes, looking over at the other two. He raised an eyebrow when he saw who else came. “H’llo Anti, didn’ expect you here.”

“Yeah, well.” Anti folded his arms, leaning against the nearest wall. “Jackie was giving me a ride to a thing, and this was on the way, so I figured why not come inside where it’s warm? How you doing, man?”

A grin flitted across Marvin’s face. “What kind o’ t’ing?”

“A…Internet thing,” Anti said haltingly. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Sure.” Marvin covered his eyes with his arm, but kept smiling. “Tell me what ever ye want.”

Anti glared, but didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Jackie pulled a chair from the corner of the room over to the bedside, sitting down. “Jays gave me your first aid kit—he’s waiting outside, by the way, I think he was nervous about coming in—so I’m just going to take your temperature again.”

“Mhm,” Marvin mumbled. God, it was hot in here. He reached over and turned up the speed of the electric fan on the nightstand.

“Just say ‘ahh’.” Jackie paused. “I didn’t mean to say that, I’m working on autopilot here, I’m used to doing this with kids.”

Marvin chuckled. “Y’can say what ever y’want as sure as y’get it done with.”

Afterward, Jackie examined the reading on the thermometer. His brows drew together, and he grimaced. “So. It’s not going down.”

“Alrigh’.”

“Do you feel any worse than you did yesterday?”

Marvin shrugged as best he could. “Didn’ sleep well last night. But I did fall ‘sleep t’is morning so…t’at. A little bit o’ a headache.”

Jackie bit his lip. “Okay. Are you feeling tired? Or fatigued? You remember the fatigue scale I gave you last month? Can you tell me how you feel based on that?”

Marvin closed his eyes, picturing the chart Jackie had shown him in his mind. “Eight?” he guessed.

“That’s a high number,” Anti remarked. “Why do I get the feeling it would’ve been higher if you were being honest?”

Jackie sighed. “Anti, for god’s sake—”

“Hey, where are your kids?” Marvin suddenly asked. “I jus’ rememb’red them. Aren’ you two s’pposed to be…wit’ them?”

“I’m going to pick up Michelle soon,” Jackie explained. “Rama would’ve done it, but we only have one car and I was already out.”

“Will takes the bus home, I usually just meet him at the stop,” Anti said.

“C’n I ask what h’ppened to your…partner?” That was the appropriate term people used in this modern time, right? “Jus’…’cause otherwise she could…do t’at.”

“Oh. Uh, there never was one,” Anti said. For once, he looked uncomfortable. “ I, uh, don’t like girls that way. Or guys. Or anyone.”

Marvin looked at him, wide-eyed. “T’at’s allowed?!”

“I mean, they’re not going to murder you if you don’t get married.”

“Huh.” Marvin covered his eyes again. “I didn’ know feeling t’at way was possible. T’at’s great, t’at is. T’ings are always changin’.”

“Okay, uh, anyway,” Jackie interrupted. “Anything else of note happen this morning? Or yesterday, last night, y’know.”

Marvin hesitated. “Had a weird dream.”

“Really? Why was it weirder than any other dream?”

“Well, it…” Marvin struggled to find the words. “…didn’…start. I didn’ fall asleep an’ it happened, it jus’…was, all of a sudden. I t’ought it was real. Realer t’an…you us’ally t’ink dreams are. Real life.”

“…oh.” Jackie’s eyes were wide, and he nodded quickly. “Okay, that’s—that’s good to know.”

“Y’goin’ t’stick aroun’?” Marvin asked. “‘m bored…Jems has stuff to do, don’ wan’ t’distract him too much. I’d like…people. Wh’abou’ Hen? Where’s he?”

“Well, I said I have to pick up Michelle, and Volt’s at work,” Jackie said softly.

“I would stay, but, y’know. There’s a nine-year-old kid I have to watch,” Anti shrugged.

“T’anks anyway,” Marvin mumbled. He closed his eyes, still hidden. He was tired…how was he so tired when he’d slept for so much of the morning?

“Well, I can see if I can drop by later,” Jackie said, trying to sound cheerful. “But we have to go now.”

“Have fun,” Marvin said. Then he wondered why he said that.

“Yeah, sure.”

Jackie and Anti left the room, almost running into JJ, who’d been pacing the hallway. “So?” JJ said, folding his arms. “Is it—is he—?”

“Y’know, I think we should get started on forging those papers,” Jackie said.

“…it’s worse, isn’t it?” JJ asked, voice full of dread.

“Well, his temperature’s even higher,” Jackie admitted. “And I…think he might’ve…maybe…had a hallucination last night.”

“ _What?!”_

“I mean, I don’t know, but from what he told me, maybe?” Jackie winced. “So, yeah, we need those records soon, in case it gets to an emergency state.”

“I can do that,” Anti suggested.

“Of course you can, hacker-man.”

“Is there anything I can do?” JJ asked. He was chewing on his fingernails.

“You’re doing good already,” Jackie assured him. “Just…just keep checking on him. Maybe get a damp cloth and put it on his head, that could help him feel a little better.”

“I did that yesterday, I can do it again.”

“Good.” Jackie turned to Anti. “You’re serious about those forgeries?”

“Course I am.”

“Then you should get started. Just in case.”

As Jackie and Anti headed to leave, JJ called out, “Hey…what’ll happen if it gets worse?”

Jackie hesitated. “We’ll make sure it doesn’t get to that point.”

* * *

Why was it so _hot?_

It really shouldn’t be this hot, it was getting close to winter. Marvin would’ve sat up and put his face directly in front of the electric fan, if he thought he would’ve been able to hold himself up for long enough.

JJ had come into the room at some point, but Marvin hadn’t noticed. He was just there, all of a sudden. He’d brought a sandwich and drink, but Marvin wasn’t hungry.

“‘s not fair,” Marvin mumbled. “Y’have magic healing t’ings. Can’ you do somet’in’ ‘bout t’is?”

“Well, healing is a bit more complicated than just waving a wand and having everything suddenly be cured,” JJ said patiently. “Most healing spells are directed towards wounds, not diseases. The ones that are are…super complicated. I’ve been looking into them, but they’re a bit above my level. Not to mention, you’d need to know exactly what was wrong, and I’m no doctor. There are spells that can help clear your head or give you a burst of energy, true, but right now you need rest, not energy. Otherwise you’d just, I dunno, try to run an errand or something.”

Marvin made a face at him, but didn’t deny it. “Wh’abou’ potions? I’d drink a potion.”

“Those are a different thing entirely,” JJ said, sighing. “They could help, but…oh, it’s complicated. Magic is complicated. I didn’t sign up for this. Anyway, you’re basically asking a biologist to do rocket science. It might happen, but they’d have to do _extensive_ studying.”

“Hngh,” Marvin groaned. “If I had magic, I’d fix…”

“Fix what?”

“I dunnae. T’is.” Marvin waved his hand vaguely.

“I see.” JJ nudged the plate he’d put on the nightstand a little closer to Marvin. “You should really eat something.”

Marvin didn’t answer. He was staring at the ceiling. “We’re underwater.”

“I—what?”

“Up t’ere. The sky.” He pointed upward. “The bones are swimming.”

Well that wasn’t ominous at all. “Marvin,” JJ said slowly, “there aren’t any bones.”

“No, of course not. T’ose are under the floor.” Marvin blinked. “What d’you do when they stop bein’ useful? Y’make them stay until the’re just bones. T’en ye throw them away when t’ere’s no more room.”

“Marvin, I think you should go to sleep,” JJ said cautiously. “That, or eat something. Actually, eat, and then go to bed. You didn’t have breakfast, you slept through it.” He should also think about giving him some more medicine. Maybe they had some extra-strength Tylenol or something. He didn’t really want to leave Marvin to go get some if they didn’t; he’d have to call someone about that.

“Mmm, fine, I’ll eat…somet’in’.” Despite saying this, Marvin rolled over and immediately fell asleep. 

JJ sighed, then reached over and brushed Marvin’s hair out of his face. The strands were sticky with sweat, and his skin felt like brushing against a radiator. Out of curiosity, JJ pressed his fingers to Marvin’s neck, and felt a rapid pulse beneath the skin.

He would wait for him to wake up. And he’d watch…for anything.

* * *

The next few hours passed in a dizzy, wavering blur. Marvin was vaguely aware of tossing and turning, of having JJ make him drink a glass of water with pills at one point. But those moments were hazy around the edges. He almost laughed, remembering this all happened because he didn’t want to walk back inside. But then he wondered why he thought that. He was already inside. He must’ve gone back inside.

It was dark in here. It was nighttime. The stars above were shining bright. He reached out and grabbed one, but let go when it burned his hand. That made the stars flee, and now there was a single lightbulb overhead. Flickering. Flickering. A moth with shining wings, fluttering a signal that he couldn’t understand.

He rolled over, finding something wrapped around his waist. He turned over again to unwrap it, but something else grabbed his arms. What—no! No, it couldn’t—he flailed suddenly. He wouldn’t be kept here, he wouldn’t! You couldn’t keep him here like this!

His eyes flicked across the dark room. Shapes, shapes, unfamiliar yet familiar shapes. Where was he? He knew he was here, standing and watching with that smug, constant grin. He could hear him laughing at his struggles. “Leave me alone,” Marvin mumbled, unable to stop a sob from creeping in. “Leave me alone, ‘m not—’m not your…please.”

Just more laughter. Chills suddenly shivered across his body. Something was touching him—no, someone. Marvin cried out, falling backwards in shock, and he was surprised to fall a few feet onto a hard surface. No, he had to leave, he had to get out of here! His head was swimming, fuzzy, blanking out, but he managed to stand up and start walking to the door. Leave the room, then find the trapdoor, he could do it. He had to get out of here.

Then someone grabbed him again. “No!” Marvin cried. It was him, it had to be, he couldn’t let him catch him. He tried to shrug him off, but just ended up shaking uselessly, too tired to do anything more. Liquid was dripping from his eyes—tears or more blood?

The someone set him down again, and Marvin immediately tried to roll off again, only to be pushed back. Suddenly, a blue light bloomed before his eyes. He cried out, burrowing his face in the pillow. He didn’t know what that was, but it couldn’t be good. It never was, in this place.

The basement room was flooded with light, and Marvin could’ve seen him, if he wanted to. But he looked away. “Don’…don’ do…don’…please,” he muttered. “Anyt’in’, jus’…I won’ hurt…don’ make me…hurt…”

Someone was saying words, but he didn’t listen. He didn’t want to hear those words, that phrase.

He couldn’t tell how much time passed before the someone picked him up. He tried to fight against it, but his struggles were barely noticeable. He couldn’t keep his eyes open.

Then, all of a sudden, it was cold.

Then, all of a sudden, he was sitting, staring out a pane of glass at surroundings moving much faster than they should’ve been able to.

Then, all of a sudden, the world was white, and filled with chatter.

Then he was asleep.

* * *

“Go home, dude.”

“I-I can’t do that, I need to—”

“Jesus christ, Jackson, you look awful. Go home. Go to sleep. I’m sure Marvin would appreciate you staying this long.”

“But what if something happens?”

“Jackie trusts these people, that means they’re capable. Jackie himself is on call if we need him. I got all the documents made up, and trust me when I say they’re perfect copies. Go take care of yourself.”

Marvin opened his eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. This room was white, very clean-looking. He was lying in a bed that he didn’t recognize the feel of. When he turned his head to the side, he saw Anti, standing, and JJ, sitting in an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair by the bedside. The two of them seemed to be talking, and JJ had big, dark circles under his eyes. “Y’look tired,” Marvin said quietly.

JJ jumped, immediately spinning around. He smiled wide. “Marvin! You’re awake, thank god. How are you? How do you feel?”

“…confused.” Marvin looked around again. There was a pole with a plastic bag, and the bag had a tube leading into this arm. “Where’m I?”

“The hospital.” JJ swallowed. “It’s the morning of the seventeenth. You were…you were acting…last night, it…I was worried.”

“You are so lucky I finished making your forgeries last night, too,” Anti muttered.

JJ glared at him. “Maybe don’t mention that in earshot of the doctors.”

“The door’s closed, it’s fine.”

“How w’s I actin’ las’ night?” Marvin asked, picking up on one thing from JJ’s stammered statement.

JJ looked down, playing with his hands in his lap. “I think…you thought you were in danger or something. You kept…you thought I would hurt you or something. And you kept trying to get away. And saying…concerning things.” JJ swallowed. “You may have been hallucinating.”

Suddenly, things were starting to make a lot more sense. “…memory,” Marvin said.

“Excuse me?”

“I t’ink…I-I t’ink I was, but…it wasn’ somet’ing new, i-it was…based on somet’ing t’at happened.” Marvin covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes were tearing up, spilling over.

“Hey.” JJ leaned forward, reaching out. “It’s alright, now. You’re—”

“You’re goin’ t’say ‘safe’ aren’ you?” Marvin asked. He shook his head. “No, no, you’re wrong. I-I-I don’—I don’ know how I’m here, I don’ know why I’m here, and t’at _thing_ is in my head. I-I know him. It. Which ever. It did somet’ing to me, and I-I-I’m—”

“You’re safe,” JJ insisted. He gently laid a hand on Marvin’s arm, but Marvin flinched and he withdrew it, settling for scooting closer. “Marvin, you’re okay. We’re going to be here for you. And if the Distorter comes, I will personally make sure he doesn’t lay a hand on you.”

Marvin looked over at him, then glanced away again. “What if…I-I hurt you? What if he makes me…?”

“Then I’ll get you out of there. I’ll find some spell to block his influence. In fact, I’ll start looking today.” JJ’s voice became softer. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, and neither will he.”

Marvin felt like crying again, though for a different reason. “I love you, Jems. You’re a good friend.”

“Love you, too. And you’re a good friend as well, don’t sell yourself short.” JJ smiled, then gave his mustache a wiggle.

Marvin laughed a bit, wiping at his eyes. He looked around the room. “So…how long will I be stuck here?”

“I’m not sure,” JJ admitted. “Until the fever breaks, I suppose. How are you feeling about that, by the way?”

“A…mite better, but not too much,” Marvin sighed. “M’brain is mushed potatoes.”

Anti suddenly cleared his throat, reminding the other two he was in the room. “I’m going to go ask the doctor how long you’ll be here. I’ll be back.” And he opened the door and left.

JJ raised an eyebrow. “I think we made him uncomfortable.”

“I should’ve said t’ank you for making the records,” Marvin said.

“You can tell him when he gets back.”

“Mmm…dunnae if t’at’ll happen.” Marvin blinked slowly. “Y’see…while we’ve been talkin’, my brain decided to pass out again.”

“Alright, go to sleep, then. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Marvin leaned back against his pillows. “Y’shoul’ go back home at some point. Feed Mister.”

JJ smiled. “I’ll feed our esteemed cat, don’t worry.”

“Our? Excuse me, you gave him t’me.”

“I paid for all his stuff, so I get joint custody.”

Marvin would’ve rolled his eyes if he had the energy. He buried his face in the pillow instead. “Mm…Jems, when I wake up…we need t'talk about what happened last week. Or…two weeks ‘go.”

JJ’s eyes widened, but he nodded. “Of course. If you’re ready for that.”

Marvin gave him a small smile, and closed his eyes once again. There was a warmth in his chest, and not from the fever. This was from something much nicer. Much more comforting. It was…a lovely feeling.


	9. Pick Your Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Schneep runs into Distorter, and comes away mostly unscathed. Though, later, he has to admit it was more serious than he initially thought.

“Henrik, what are you doing back there?”

Schneep pulled off his headphones, stuffing them back in his backpack. God, he really had to be more aware of his surroundings when back here. He managed to zip up his pack just as Jennifer, his coworker, poked her head into the back room. “Just listening to music.”

“Well, alright. It’s almost lunch, though, so you might want to get out here.” Jennifer disappeared again.

“Understood.” Schneep pushed his backpack behind the nearest table. They should really get lockers in the back room. Not only would it be convenient, not only would it prevent random thefts, but it would save him a lot of worrying. He didn’t like thinking about people finding the police scanner he hid in his backpack and listened to on break. That would be awkward at best, and a giveaway of his secret vigilante identity at worst. He sighed. He was basically having to juggle two full-time jobs, and sometimes it was more stressful than he thought it was worth.

But then again, if he didn’t have a job he wouldn’t be able to afford an apartment _and_ superhero gear. He kept that in mind as he pulled on his apron and headed back out into the front of the coffee shop. Jennifer, manning the percolators, glanced at him. “Hey. So before you do any sort of work, I think someone just walked in who’d want to see you.” She grinned, and jerked her head towards the entrance.

“Hmm? Oh.” Schneep smiled. He approached the counter, waving down the pair who’d just entered. “Hello Anti. And William, nice to see you. What brings you here?”

“Came to see if they’d fired you yet,” Anti said, grinning.

“Ha! No such luck, I am afraid.”

William jumped, red curls bouncing as he gripped the edge of the counter. “Hi Uncle Hen!”

“Also I need a hot chocolate,” Anti added. “Small size. And a medium ristretto.”

“And a cake pop?” William asked hopefully.

“Alright, fine,” Anti agreed. “But just for today.”

“Ah, I’d think you only use me for my connections, Anti,” Schneep muttered with a smile, writing down the order on two cups. He turned to leave, but found Jennifer interrupting him, taking the cups with a smile and a glance. “Oh! Okay, I suppose we can talk.”

“Nice.” Anti looked down at Will. “Hey, kid? Want to go find a comfy seat while we wait?”

“Yeah!” Will jumped up one more time before scurrying off.

“So, what is the occasion?” Schneep asked.

“Well, Will just started spring term, so I promised him a treat if he got through the first week,” Anti said. “And it’s all cold outside, so hot chocolate made sense.”

“Is unusually snowy, I will say that,” Schneep agreed. “It was very cold walking to the bus earlier.”

“Yeah, I know. Nearest stop’s like fifteen minutes away from here, I have no idea how you manage to do that every day in winter, it totally sucked today.”

“I have been colder.” Schneep shrugged. “Do you have any plans today?”

“Nothing new. Maybe some more recording.” Anti suddenly perked up. “Oh. Hey, how are you liking that game I told you to play?”

Schneep froze, suddenly glaring at him. “I hate you.”

“Whaaaat? Why?” Anti was trying very hard not to laugh.

“I knew something was up from the very beginning. I thought, wow, it is odd that he told me to play this since it’s very cute, there must be some dark twist inside it. But then!” Schneep threw a hand in the air. “I got too attached to them! And I was not expecting the entire second half! The game just decided to kill everyone and it was terrible!”

Anti was giggling now. “But you had fun, right?”

“It was…interesting,” Schneep conceded. “I can see why it is your favorite, it does all those programming things. And it was honestly scary.”

“Great! Now you can check out the videos I did on it,” Anti said cheerfully. “Who do you like best?”

Schneep rolled his eyes. “Actually, I liked Monika. She was very…fascinating. I wondered a lot about her.”

“That’s fair. I like Natsuki.”

“Really? I think you have more in common with Yuri.”

“You’re only saying that because of the knives.” Anti hesitated for a second. “I do…relate to her the most. But that doesn’t make her personality interesting.”

“I am never playing any game you tell me to play ever again,” Schneep mumbled. “I am never trusting you ever.”

“When should you ever trust me?” Anti grinned. “Anyway, do you have any plans today? Since you asked about mine.”

Schneep looked at the clock mounted on the wall. “Well, my shift ends in two and a half hours, and after I get home Jackie is coming over.”

“Oh? And you didn’t invite me. Wait!” Anti held up a finger, thinking. “This is that thing you told me about last week. Batman movies?”

Schneep nodded. “If you have changed your mind you are free to come. We plan on ordering pizza.”

“Hmm, tempting. But I think I’ll pass.”

“If you insist.” Schneep glanced away. “Hey, I think Jennifer has your order now.”

“Oh? So she does.” Anti looked over. “You like her?”

“She is friendly, yes,” Schneep said slowly. 

“Good, I don’t need to be a bi—a jerk about anything.” Anti grinned again. “Heh, there are kids here. Anyway, text you later?”

“Sure. I will see you.”

* * *

Two hours and forty-five minutes later, Schneep walked outside to find dusk waiting for him. He scowled vaguely at the sky. It was barely five o’clock. Stupid winter nights. The sun hadn’t set yet, but he had a hunch it would if he waited around for an hour. But he had no intention of waiting that long. He zipped up his coat, adjusted his scarf, made sure his backpack was secure on his shoulders, and started walking.

Fifteen minutes. It was only fifteen minutes walking to the bus stop. What could happen in fifteen minutes? Apparently a lot. About halfway to the stop, a pair of hands reached out and pulled Schneep into the gap between two buildings.

Schneep cried out, but found a hand covering his mouth. Instincts kicked in, and he stomped down hard on the assailant’s foot, simultaneously jabbing his elbow backwards. The hands released, and he gasped, looking around. There was no one in sight. Or at least, no one he could see in the shadows. He shook his head, and started towards the street, only for his vision to waver and blur. Between one blink and the next, he was suddenly staring at a wall. He turned around, looking back towards the street, only for the same thing to happen again.

He groaned. Not again. “Okay, where are you?” he said, spinning around. “I know it’s you.”

Silence. And then the slight sound of laughter. “ ~~Clever boy.~~ ” The world suddenly shifted its view as the illusions faded away. Distorter was leaning against one of the building walls by the entrance to the street. Still smiling. Still dripping blood from his eyes and the wound on his head. “ ~~You know, there’s one good thing about you. It’s so easy to make fake things in your mind. Because of your…~~ ” He twirled a finger beside his head, the sign for _cuckoo._ “ ~~You know?~~ ”

Schneep flinched, then growled. “You gang up on me when I am walking home? Really? Were you getting tired of having an even playing ground?” All the past times he’d fought Distorter had been at night, when he was out on patrol and had his suit and gear with him. But now? He didn’t have anything. And that made him wary.

“ ~~I like how you make everything about you. And let’s be honest, were you really doing such a good job before?~~ ” Distorter pushed away from the wall, reaching above his head and stretching backwards. And kept bending backwards, until several cracks echoed through the alleyway. Schneep took a few steps backwards. Distorter laughed, righting himself. “ ~~Don’t worry, this’ll only take a few minutes.~~ ”

“No thank you.” Schneep turned around and ran, intending to make it to the other end of the alley and out onto the street. But he only got a few steps in before he ran into something solid with a _smack!_ He stumbled backwards, rubbing his forehead as the world shifted again, showing how he’d been running right into a wall.

Distorter laughed. “ ~~Wow, I wish I had a video of that. I could play it in a loop.~~ ”

“Motherfucker,” Schneep said, glaring at him.

“ ~~Oh, I know. Now stay still.~~ ” Distorter took one step backwards, and then launched forwards.

Schneep yelled in surprise, ducking to the ground and rolling out of the way before he even knew what he was doing. Distorter crashed against the wall, but didn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest, just pushing away for a second attack. Schneep scrambled to his feet, backing up while keeping one hand against the wall to make sure it was really there. The moment Distorter was in range he shot out with a fist, connecting solidly with his face. Distorter stumbled back, then laughed. He suddenly dropped to the ground like a ragdoll. Schneep found his feet being pulled out from under him. He cried out as he fell to the ground, barely managing to catch himself before he could hit the back of his head against the cement.

“ ~~Wow, not so tough without your lightning gadgets, are you?~~ ” Distorter’s nails were digging into his shoulder, blood dripping on Schneep’s face from the creature’s eyes and nose. “ ~~Now stay. Still.~~ ”

Schneep managed to fling an arm out, fist connecting with the side of Distorter’s head, snapping it to the left. “If you want to kill me, I will not go down without fighting.”

Distorter recovered easily, grin unphased. “ ~~Who said I wanted you dead? Well, _yet._~~ ”

Schneep opened his mouth to retort, but instead suddenly gasped as he felt a sharp pain in his midsection. For a moment, it felt like a strong punch, and then he felt wet leaking.

“ ~~Have fun with that.~~ ” And between one blink and the next, Distorter seemed to disappear.

Schneep climbed into a sitting position, pressing a hand to the painful spot. Did…did Distorter just stab him? That…was different. He couldn’t remember that creature ever using a knife before. Slowly, with the help of the nearby wall, he stood up and walked back out onto the street. He looked down. It wasn’t bleeding too badly. And he’d been stabbed before, and this didn’t feel like the worst wound he’d had. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. He unwound the scarf from around his neck, unzipped his coat—no, this was his only winter coat, and it had just been ruined!—and pressed the balled-up scarf to the wound. He had a first aid kit at home. He could probably get there quickly, provided the bus was on time.

Wait, the bus! Schneep reached into his pocket with one hand, withdrawing his phone and checking the time. Oh, good, he should still be able to get to the stop before it came. He replaced his phone, zipped his coat again, and started off.

Part of him thought it was ridiculous that he wasn’t calling anyone. But it didn’t seem too bad. Nothing he hadn’t survived before. Maybe he could just handle it by himself, without needing to bother anyone.

* * *

And once he got back to the apartment, it seemed like it wasn’t anything to worry about. The wound was small, probably from a small blade, and he managed to bandage it up well enough. He hadn’t lost a lot of blood, and he got to the bus stop without much difficulty. Despite the searing pain, it was probably fine.

Probably.

“Okay, I know I am bullshitting myself,” Schneep said, glaring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. “But Jackie is coming over, and if it really starts to cause problems, he is a doctor. He can help.” Though he’d feel terrible about ruining what was supposed to be a fun night. “It will be fine, I promise.” His reflection didn’t answer any of his ramblings.

He’d arrived back at his apartment at about 5:40. Jackie arrived twenty minutes later, at six. “Okay, so we’re good to go all night,” he said the moment Schneep opened the door. “I don’t have a shift tomorrow, so we can stay up late and watch all three.”

“I doubt you’d make it that long,” Schneep muttered fondly, standing aside to let Jackie in.

“Hey! Not everyone’s a night owl.” Jackie breezed past him, then paused, standing in the center of the studio apartment. “It’s kind of hot in here, did you turn up the thermostat?”

“Oh, yes. Because it is cold outside.” It didn’t feel too hot to him. He was actually a little chilly, slightly shivering as he closed the apartment door.

“Huh. Won’t the landlord charge you for that?”

“I do not think so.”

“If you say so.” Jackie pulled off his hoodie, draping it over the back of the nearest chair. “Still hot, though.”

Schneep decided to change the subject. “So are we ordering food now, or do we wait until we actually have the movie set up?”

“We can set it up first.” Jackie flopped onto the sofa.

“Alright. Don’t hurry to help or anything.”

Jackie hesitated. “Did you want me to, or…?”

“No, it was joke, don’t worry. I will get it.” Schneep joined Jackie over in the living room section of the apartment. He bent down to turn on the TV, but when he stood up, a dagger of pain from his wound suddenly flared. He hissed, hand instinctively pressing against it.

Jackie sat up straight. “What was that?”

“Is nothing, I just…pulled a muscle at work today,” Schneep said, coming up with something on the spot.

“You work at a coffee shop,” Jackie stated.

“Well, yes, but sometimes we have to carry boxes and bags of ingredients from storage to the front.” That wasn’t a lie, at least.

“And that would result in…you pulling a muscle. In your stomach. And not your back or your knees, which is where that would usually happen.” Jackie raised an eyebrow.

“…yes,” Schneep said after a long pause.

“Okay, what happened?”

Schneep sighed. He should’ve known better than to hide anything from Jackie, He had a sort of sixth sense when it came to something being wrong with his friends. “It is nothing to worry about. I got pulled into an alleyway walking home.”

“Pulled into a what? Like a mugging?”

“Yes, like that.” Schneep pressed his hand against the wound again. “The man had a knife, and he used it.”

“You’ve been stabbed?!” Jackie shot to his feet.

“I took care of it!” Schneep hurried to say. “It was not bad!” 

“There’s no such thing as a ‘not bad’ stabbing! Here, sit down, I want to look at it.”

Schneep sighed. Well, at least this’ll be quick. Then Jackie could stop worrying and the two of them could relax. Schneep sat down on the couch. “Happy?”

“Yes. Now pull up your shirt so I can look at it.” Jackie waited patiently while Schneep did so. “You actually did a really good job wrapping. Unfortunately, I have to undo your hard work.” Jackie sat down next to him, slowly unwinding the white bandages.

Schneep tried to stay very still, despite the way the pain would surge every time he shifted weight. This was actually worse than the walk home. How was that possible? Maybe shock, or something like that. After a moment of silence, Jackie placed his hand against Schneep’s stomach. “Ah!” Schneep instinctively pulled down his shirt. “Jackie, your hands are cold, do not do that!”

“Okay, that’s weird,” Jackie said, not responding to what Schneep said. “Lean forward.” He put his hand against Schneep’s forehead. “Um…I don’t think it’s my hands that are cold, I think it’s you.” He bit his lip. “I think…did you lose a lot of blood?”

“Not a lot. There was not a lot of bleeding, and I had something pressed against it a lot of the time.”

“Weird…” Jackie leaned back, thinking. “You’re cold, and also you look like you’re sweating a bit. Huh…did you put any disinfectant on the wound?”

“…ah.” Schneep tried not to squirm.

Jackie sighed. “Who knows what was on that knife? I keep telling you—well, never mind now. I know you have some. First aid kit’s in the bathroom, right?” Schneep nodded. “Wait here, I’ll get it.” And with that, Jackie stood up and left.

Schneep had nothing to do but sit. The day had started off so well, now this was happening. He sighed, blinking around at his surroundings. He was tired…really tired, all of a sudden. He leaned back against the couch, now staring up at the ceiling. Was it…was it spinning?

“Alright, I’m back! I have the…are you okay?”

“What?” Schneep rolled his head over to look at Jackie. “Yes, I am just…I just got very tired very quickly.”

“That’s…just suddenly?” Jackie’s brows furrowed. “Are you sure you didn’t lose too much blood?”

“Yes, I am sure.” Schneep blinked again. For a moment, everything was swimming.

“…okay.” Jackie sat down next to him. “I’m gonna put this on the stab wound, now. It might sting a little. Okay?”

Schneep didn’t answer.

“Hey, Volt, buddy?” Jackie patted the side of Schneep’s face. “I need to know that you understand.”

After a moment of silence, Schneep said, “The walls are melting.”

“Wh-what?” Jackie asked, taken aback.

“They are melting.” Schneep’s eyes fluttered. “I think I am seeing things. That happens, but this time I know it is happening, so that is a start.”

“…I’m just going to take a look at the wound real quick.” Jackie lifted up Schneep’s shirt. His eyes widened, and he looked back between the wound and Schneep’s face. “I’m…going to take a pulse, okay?” He pressed two fingers against Schneep’s neck. Then he withdrew them sharply. “Holy—” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, dialing a number.

“What is wrong?” Schneep asked. He tried to focus on Jackie’s face, but it was blurry, like it was hidden behind a pane of frosted glass.

“I-I don’t know what was on that knife, but there was definitely _something_ ,” Jackie said, pressing the phone to his ear. “It’s doing something to you, we need to get emergency—what do you mean no service?!” He pulled the phone away.

“The lines nearby have been down for a while,” Schneep mumbled. “There was a storm…though I remember they said that it looked like…sie wurden sabotiert…”

“Okay, I don’t know what that last part was.” Jackie stood up, hurrying to the door. “I can drive you to the hospital, I—what?!” He pulled on the doorknob, then pushed on it. “I-it won’t open!” Giving up on getting it open, Jackie started pounding on the door. “Hey! Hello? The door’s stuck, someone let us out! It’s an emergency!”

“Jackie…” Schneep looked back up at the ceiling. It was dripping into his eyes. How was it melting when it was so cold? “You are doctor, you can fix…”

“I’m not trained for-for poison!” Jackie stammered.

“You can try…or maybe we can go out the window, it is not too far.”

“I can’t go out the window!” Jackie had come back to stand next to Schneep at some point, now standing over him and chewing on his hair nervously. “I-I can try? But I gotta keep trying to get someone, too!”

“Mm…you do that.” Schneep paused. “Jackie…I should tell you. The one who stabbed me…was not just some random thief…it was…lächelnde Mann. Distort…” He closed his eyes.

“It was Dis—?! No no no no, Volt, Henrik, stay awake!” Jackie leaned over him, shaking him slightly, only to get no response. “Oh, fuck fuck fucking fuck.” He took his pulse once again, finding it just as rapid as before. “Okay. Okay, Jackie, you can figure this out. You can do this.” He took a step back, lifting up Schneep’s shirt to expose the stab wound once again. It was yellow around the edges, the blood darker than it should be. “Okay, uh. I have no idea what that is. I can find out, I guess?”

Jackie picked up his phone, opening a window to the Internet and typing as quickly as possible. Luckily he knew several websites that knew what they were talking about, so he didn’t have to search through shady sites. “‘Get to the hospital as quickly as possible’—yes, I know, I can’t do that. Fuck. Okay.” He pushed Schneep to the side, lying him down. Schneep’s eyelids fluttered. “Cleaning is always a good place to start. Okay.”

He ran to the kitchenette, throwing open the cupboards until he found the largest cup possible. Turning on the sink, he filled it with water. Warm or cold? God, if he knew _what_ was in the wound, he’d know which, but he had to settle for lukewarm and hope that would work. He grabbed a wash rag and dashed back to the sofa as quickly as possible, kneeling nearby. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but this is going to sting.”

As soon as the water touched his skin, Schneep’s eyes flew open and he screamed, flailing. “I know, I know!” Jackie said. “Just, please! Stay still! Stay—hey!” He grabbed Schneep’s arm with one hand to prevent him from whacking him in the face. “Please, you have to let me do this.”

Jackie reached out, ready to…to…what was he doing? He shook his head, clearing away the sudden fog. He had to clean the wound, that was a good starting place.

It wasn’t easy, but he managed it. As soon as he was sure he’d done as good a job as possible, he checked Schneep’s pulse again. It was slower than before, but…but it was also slower than it should be. “No no no no no,” he muttered, a constant stream while he tried to look up what else to do. “There has to be a way, I have to…” he trailed off. What…? His head turned, and his hand reached out, fingers exploring into the open bleeding—

Schneep screamed again, and Jackie jerked backwards. What the hell?! What had he just been doing?! “No no no, I-I’m sorry, it’s okay!” It wasn’t okay, but that didn’t matter now. He stood up, once again running to the door, but it was just as unmovable as it had been before. He pounded on it once…he…his head tilted to the side, his arm dropping. Was someone laughing nearby?

No! Jackie shook his head. He had to—there was something on his face. Something warm and wet, and coming from his eyes. He reached up, fingers coming away red. “Shit, no, fuck!” He looked around the apartment, not finding anything. Well, did it matter? His friend was dying!

There had to be something else he could do! He rushed back to Schneep’s side, checking his pulse once again. His breathing was slower, a wet, rattling sound coming from inside his throat. Fuck, this had happened so fast. Jackie tilted his head back, keeping his mouth open. What else could he do? The disinfectant? It was probably better than nothing. Jackie grabbed the small tin, unscrewing the lid. He dabbed his fingers inside, then tried to gently apply it to the surface around the wound as gently as possible. Schneep didn’t protest beyond a slight twitching. There was red dripping on the sofa in between them; he knew it was coming from his eyes.

“Come on, come on, please please please.” Once more, he checked the pulse. He checked the…the…

He couldn’t find it.

“No. No no no no no no—” He tried to find it by pressing fingers against his wrist. Then by pressing his palm against his chest. He still couldn’t find anything. “No, Henrik, please don’t—wake up! Please, wake up!” The world seemed leeched of its color, everything in gray. He couldn’t concentrate on anything, anything. He was shaking him and getting no response. “Henrik, no! No, my friend!”

There was nothing, nothing, nothing but gray distortion.

* * *

A steady, slow beeping was coming from somewhere. Everything felt heavy, especially his eyelids. Yet he managed to open them somehow, staring uncomprehendingly at his surroundings, until something cleared and he recognized that he was in a hospital room somewhere.

After what felt like forever, he rolled his head to the side, catching sight of a woman in nurse’s scrubs. She was watching him. He closed his eyes again…

* * *

The beeping was back, as well as a low murmuring. He could hear two voices.

“So how are you related to him again?”

“I’m not, he’s my neighbor.”

“And you found him how?”

“Well, I heard shouting from his apartment, so I was a little worried. It went away after a while, but I thought I would go check anyway. And when I did, his door was wide open, and so I peeked inside and I…”

* * *

More voices, muffled like they were through a wall. A few sounded familiar…

“Fuck you, he’s our friend and you’re going to let us see him!”

“Sir, if you would please calm down—”

“Fuck calm! I have a hunting knife in my backpack that I’d think you’d like to see!”

“Now, really, Anti, that’s going too far.”

“Yea, a bit. Y’wouldn’ want t’get arrested.”

“There’s nothing illegal about knives. Guns, maybe, but knives?”

“I’m sure threatening a doctor has some consequences. They could throw us out.”

“Mnngh…”

* * *

He opened his eyes again, looking around at the same hospital room. Everything felt…floaty. Like he could bounce away at any minute. But he was awake. He tried to sit up, fell back, and looked around. The same nurse from the last time he looked around was still there. She watched him for a moment, then smiled. “Oh, good, you’re awake. Everyone was worried.”

“Wh…happened?” He asked.

“Well, we’re not too sure. You were found unconscious, and wounded. I personally don’t know too many details, but they had to hurry.”

The stab wound. Schneep tried to bolt upright as soon as he remembered, but just ended up falling down again and knocking the breath out of his lungs. 

“Oh, be careful. You could tear open the stitches.” The nurse paused. “You know…there are some friends of yours waiting outside. I could let them in, if you want.” Once he nodded, she stood from her chair, opened the door, and poked her head outside. “He’s awake,” she said. And then the door opened wide as three people came in.

“Henrik, what the _fuck_ dude?!” Anti demanded. “In the span of a few hours since I’d seen you, you manage to almost die?!”

Schneep smiled at him. He couldn’t remember the last time Anti had called him by his first name, he must’ve been really worried.

Marvin poked his head around Anti. “I don’ t’ink our group should be makin’ a habit of visiting others in the hospital,” he said, smiling.

“Had no say in th’matter,” Schneep mumbled.

“How are you feeling?” JJ asked.

Schneep paused for a long moment, trying to find the right words. “Bad,” he settled on.

“Yeah, I bet,” Anti muttered. “I did some research on what the doctor said got to you, and it’s pretty nasty. I mean, you were out for a night and half the day.” He looked over at the nurse. “Hey, can we get some privacy here?”

The nurse pursed her lips. “It’s against policy.”

“Sh’s fine,” Schneep said. “‘M just…happy you all’re here…” His eyes darted around the room. Something was wrong…“Where’s Jackie?”

The three boys looked at each other. “I thought he came to see you earlier,” JJ said. “Do either of you two know?”

“I was just assumin’ he was somewhere in the hospital,” Marvin said. “Because he works here, I t’ought…”

“He doesn’t have a shift today,” Anti said. “Wait! I texted him.” Anti dug into his pocket, pulling out his phone and checking his messages. His brows furrowed. “And…he hasn’t even seen it, let alone replied yet.”

Schneep tried to sit up one more time, finally managing to prop himself against the pillows. “He was with me…”

“Wait, he was with you when you got stabbed?” JJ asked, eyes wide.

“No, later, when…everything started…I blacked out…did he bring me here?”

“No, some neighbor lady of yours checked on you, and lucky she did,” Anti said. “She…didn’t mention anyone else.”

Schneep made a strangled sort of gasp, covering his mouth. “He’s gone.”

The others looked around, expressions confused and worried. In the background, the nurse opened the door and left, standing outside.

“We don’t know that,” JJ hurried to say.

“Jems, I don’ t’ink…” Marvin sat down in the nearest chair, realizing the truth before anyone else. “Henrik, d’you mean…?”

“He poisoned me,” Schneep whispered. “He knew Jackie would try to fix it…” It had all been a trap. A plan, of some sorts. How long had Distorter been planning this? Since he first met them all? “So he could confuse him, and take him, and if I died…well, two birds, one stone.”

The others said nothing. There was nothing to say, in the face of such knowledge. It weighed heavy on the air of that room.

And somewhere across the city, a man dressed in gray was smiling, perfectly delighted.


	10. The Blade or the Handle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin feels that someone is watching him, and it probably has something to do with the fact that he's starting to remember things. Luckily, others are noticing he's acting a bit odd.

Anti didn’t get a lot of visitors. Even the people he considered friends didn’t stop by that often, and when they did, they usually called or texted to let him know. Which is why, when his doorbell rang on Saturday morning, he elected to ignore it and continue editing the video for tomorrow.

And then it rang again. And again. And again. And by that point Will had knocked on the door to his recording room and said “Dad, I think someone’s at the door” and Anti realized that this person wasn’t going to go away. He sighed, saved the project, and stood up. Before he went to answer the door, he grabbed a switchblade from the nearest shelf and shoved it in his pocket. Just in case. You never could tell with people, sometimes.

Luckily, he opened the front door to a familiar face. Though an unexpected one. He blinked. “Marvin, what’re you doing here?”

“Well, nice t’see you too,” Marvin commented. “Fancy seein’ you here.”

“This is _my_ apartment.”

“I know. T’at was a joke.”

“What are you doing here?” Anti repeated.

Marvin sighed, shifting position. “T’is may sound odd.”

“Just say it, dude.”

“I need a knife.”

Well, that was certainly unexpected. Anti leaned against the doorway. “Um. Why? If you’re gonna go mug someone, I don’t want my knife at the scene of the crime.”

“I’m not goin’ t’mug someone,” Marvin said, rolling his eyes. “I jus’…need to borrow one. For some time.”

Anti narrowed his eyes. Marvin was being weirdly evasive about this. But he wasn’t the type of person to go out and stab someone, so the evasion probably wasn’t one of suspicion. Maybe the best course of action would be to let him in, and then try to get the reasoning out of him. “Alright, fine. Come on in.” Anti leaned back and stepped aside, letting Marvin come into the apartment.

“Hi Mr. Marvin,” Will said, sitting at the coffee table with his DS.

“Hello, William.” Marvin smiled. “How’re you?”

“Good. It’s the weekend!” Will looked up briefly. “I think Dad wants to hurry with whatever you’re doing.”

Anti, standing next to the door to his recording room with his hand on the knob, coughed awkwardly. “Don’t call me out like this, kid,” he laughed.

“Well, it’s true,” Will said.

“I’d hate t’keep you from what’s it you were doing,” Marvin said. “We can hurry.”

“Thanks,” Anti said. “C’mon, follow me.”

Anti’s recording room had a lot of stuff on the shelves mounted on the walls, but there was one shelf in particular that he was interested in. It was surrounded by a glass case that he kept locked. This was his knife shelf. He kept it locked because one could never be too sure, having knives and a nine-year-old kid in the same apartment. “Here we are,” Anti muttered, unlocking the case.

Marvin stared at the shelf. “I…was not expectin’ t’at. Why d’you have so many?”

Anti shrugged. “Knives are cool. And you never know what sort of situation will arise. What’re you looking for? I can help you figure out which one you want.”

“Ah…” Marvin looked a little lost. “I don’ know…”

Well, this might take a while then. Anti sighed quietly, picking up one of the knives at random. “Look, the shape of the knife determines its purpose. This one’s a needle-point blade, which means it’s good for fighting, particularly stabbing. A lot of stiletto blades have a form like this.” He picked up a different one. “Or there’s a clip-point, which is good for cutting, but not so much for piercing, unless you sharpen the other side. It depends what you need the knife for.”

“You know quite a lot about t’is, don’ you?” Marvin whistled.

“I do.” Anti wasn’t able to keep a tinge of pride out of his voice. “Which is why I’ll be able to get you the best knife you need, but I need to know what you want it for.”

“Well, I…” Marvin took a step backwards. “I’m not quite…sure. I was just t’inkin’ t’at…I needed somet’ing for defense.”

Anti set down the knife. “Wait. You mean, like, to keep?”

“Not necessar—”

“No, if you want a knife for self-defense, you need your own,” Anti insisted. “Because you’ll need to carry it on you.”

Marvin squirmed a bit. “I didn’—didn’ mean t’at I wanted to keep one of yours for meself. I didn’…I suppose I didn’ t’ink I would need…I t’ought I could just borrow one of yours.”

“Yeah, well.” Anti took his phone out of his pocket and opened up his browser. “You will. I know a couple websites, I can get you something.”

“You don’ have t’do t’at,” Marvin muttered. “Jus’ forget everyt’in’.”

“Shut up, I’m doing this. I can get you a simple style, the sort of thing for beginners.” Anti scrolled through the options on his phone. “Some of them have designs or colors, you want anything like that?”

“Anti, if you’re so insistent, you can give me the website name and I’ll do it on my own,” Marvin said. “I have my own money, wouldn’ want you t’spend yours.”

“Yeah, but you’re an old man who doesn’t know how to navigate anything online,” Anti joked. “Trust me, I can spare it. Why the sudden interest in defense, anyway? You’ve been here for, what, at least a year and a half now. Seems kind of out of the blue.”

“…oh.” Marvin hesitated, looking reluctant. “Well…since Jackie…y’know, disappeared—”

Anti squeezed his phone so tightly he could’ve sworn the case cracked. “Oh.”

Marvin was quiet for a while, feeling the shift in the atmosphere. “I jus’ t’ought it would be a good idea,” he finally mumbled.

“It is,” Anti said shortly. All of a sudden, he wanted Marvin out of his apartment even more than he did earlier. “I’ll get you something, send it to you and Jackson’s house.”

Marvin nodded. “T’ank you.”

“Welcome. Now, if that’ll be all—”

“I-I’ll be goin’,” Marvin said. “See myself out.”

“Yeah, go on.”

Without another word, Marvin turned and strolled out of the room, and then the apartment, saying nothing more than a brief goodbye. Anti sighed deeply. He put all the knives back in their places on the shelf, locking the case. He probably should’ve returned to editing, but…he suddenly didn’t feel like it. With nothing else to do, he left the recording room and ended up in the living room again, sitting down on the sofa.

“Dad, what’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” Anti looked over at Will, who was staring at them. “Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“You’re rubbing your neck,” Will pointed out. “You do that when you’re upset.”

Anti froze, and lowered his hand, just then realizing that he had, indeed, been rubbing his throat. “You’re an observant kid, you know that, Will?”

“Yeah,” Will nodded solemnly. “So what’s wrong?”

“…it’s nothing,” Anti said, turning his head to stare out the window. “Nothing that you need to worry about, anyway.”

Will set his DS down on the coffee table. “Is this about Uncle Jackie?”

“No,” Anti lied.

“You miss him, huh Dad?”

Anti didn’t say anything. 

“I think I get it,” Will said, kicking his feet. “I’d miss Taylor if he went away.”

“You would,” Anti agreed. “I know that.”

“So that’s how you’re doing.” Will paused. “Dad, aren’t you always saying it’s good to talk about your problems?”

“It is,” Anti said, turning away from the window. “And you know I’d listen if _you_ wanted to talk about your problems. But this is different. This is grown-up stuff. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I understand a lot,” Will said defensively. “Like, I know that you say Uncle Jackie saved your life, and that’s why you’re friends with him. And that people sometimes don’t talk a lot when they get upset, and that’s what you’re doing.”

Anti smiled a bit. “Yeah, you got those parts right. But it’s a little more complicated than just that. Will, I don’t mean to say that you’re not smart for not understanding. You just haven’t been around as long, so you haven’t seen as much as I have. It’s like you and Michelle. You’ve been in second year, but she hasn’t, so you know a little bit more. You get that?”

Will nodded, slowly. “Then maybe you should talk to people who’ve been around as long as you.”

“Maybe,” Anti admitted. Silence fell for a moment. “Hey, don’t you have homework?”

Will squirmed. “I have all day, Dad. And Sunday!”

“If you get it done early, then you won’t have to worry about it!”

“I know what I’m doing!”

Anti laughed. “If you insist, bud.”

* * *

Two months. 

That was how long Jackie had been gone.

And that was how long Marvin had been having nightmares for.

He wasn’t exactly sure they were _nightmares,_ per se. Nightmares implied dreaming, which implied that nothing in them was actually real or had actually happened. But Marvin was dead sure that these nightmares were more than just figments of his sleeping brain’s imagination.

It started maybe three days after Jackie had been taken. Marvin went to bed as usual, and he dreamed that he was trapped in a tiny room. No more than a closet, really, completely dark and with a door that wouldn’t open when he pulled and pushed on it. His vision wavered, and the ground swayed beneath his feet. The walls felt like they were getting closer, sucking the air out of his lungs. He wasn’t sure how long he was stuck in the darkness, but eventually the door opened, and he fell out, landing hard on the floor outside. He felt dizzy, and his thoughts wouldn’t stay in one direction. But when something grabbed his arm, he had the presence of mind to shout and try to pull away. That movement resulted in a long line of pain running down his forearm, pain so real that it woke him up.

And getting ready that morning, he screamed when he saw a long, thin scar along his left forearm, in the exact spot he’d been cut in the dream.

Jameson had heard him, of course, and come running, barging into the bathroom where he was. “Marvin?! What happened?! Are you hurt?!”

Marvin could only shake his head, and hold out his arm for Jameson to see. “When was t’is? H-how did it happen?!”

“I…Marvin?” Jameson had been confused. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?!”

“Because you’ve had that longer than I’ve known you,” Jameson said patiently. “I remember seeing it that first night you stayed over.”

Marvin stared at him, then looked back down at the scar. “T'en…how come I’m only noticing it now?” He whispered.

Jameson could only shake his head. 

And the nightmares—the memories—only got worse from there. Marvin didn’t know what to do about them. Jameson had made every member of the group a small charm meant to ward off any…mental intrusions during sleep, but his didn’t seem to be working. He wasn’t about to go bother JJ about it; the magician was busy with an approaching show, and when he wasn’t practicing for that, he was trying to learn a scrying spell to find Jackie. He had a lot on his plate, and Marvin didn’t want to add to that.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was approaching. He found he was constantly looking over his shoulder, tensing at every little creek in the house. He’d recently found a job, at a nice little bookstore that he could take the bus to, and on his way there and back every day, he found his head was on a swivel, looking around for anything that could be causing this terrible feeling. That was why he’d made the impulsive decision to go over to Anti’s apartment and ask for a knife. So that when the terrible something arrived, he’d be at least a little prepared.

Coming back from that little outing in the morning, Marvin found the house quiet. He wasn’t sure what time JJ’s rehearsal started. Maybe he’d left already. Marvin sighed, and went into the living room. Immediately, Mr. Fluffington the cat appeared, winding around his ankles. “Hello, Mister,” Marvin said, bending over to pet the fluff. “How’re you today?”

Mr. Fluffington looked up at him with big green eyes, and mewed exactly once.

“T’at’s good to hear. Tell me if y’need anyt’ing.” Marvin carefully untangled his legs from the wandering kitty and walked over to his usual armchair, sitting down. He’d left a book on the nearby table last night, and was delighted to see that it hadn’t been moved at all. Jameson was trying to get him into more modern books, and it was working, Marvin was interested in many of these stories. Maybe he could finish this one today! There was apparently a sequel.

But about ten minutes later, a strange hissing sound interrupted his reading. Marvin looked up. Mr. Fluffington was standing on the windowsill, staring outside. The fur on his tail was standing up, his ears flat against his head. As Marvin watched, the cat hissed again, and briefly batted at the glass of the window with his front paw.

“What’s wrong?” Marvin marked the place in his book and stood up, walking over to the window. “Somet’ing bothering you?”

He looked through the glass to the outside. The street was empty, so there was nothing to be freaking Mr. Fluffington out. Yet, here he was. Looking…maybe scared, maybe angry? Marvin couldn’t quite remember what these signs meant. He searched the outside, scanning the street with his eyes.

And then he saw someone standing on the sidewalk across the house. Someone wearing all gray and smiling—

Marvin shrieked, scrambling backwards. He tripped over a wrinkle in the rug and landed hard on his backside. Even after falling, he kept backing up until he hit the opposite wall. “What the hell? What the hell?!” Marvin shook his head, holding his cane out in front of him like it was some kind of shield. “Leave me alone! Haven’ you done enough?!”

There was a small _mrow?_ next to his elbow. Marvin looked down to see Fluffington nearby. The cat butted his head against Marvin’s arm. 

Marvin stared at him for a while longer, then scooped Fluffington up in his arms and managed to stand up. Nope. Leave his cat out of this, thank you very much. “C’mon, we’re goin’ t’stay in my room today,” Marvin muttered. He grabbed the book off the nearby table as well. And without turning his back to the window once, he left the living room.

* * *

A little under a week later, Anti received a phone call. That was just as unusual as having someone knock on his apartment door, but at least this one came with caller ID so he could see who it was. Didn’t make it any less weird, though, especially when he saw who it was. “Why’re you calling me?” He said immediately upon picking up the call. “I thought you got phone anxiety and couldn’t talk on the phone.”

“Charming way to start a conversation,” JJ muttered. “And no, I don’t have phone anxiety. Going silent when talking to people I don’t know is entirely different. Anyway, are you busy?”

Anti paused. “That depends on what you’re about to say.” He wasn’t, really. It was Friday so Will was at school, and he hadn’t started recording yet.

“This may sound odd, but…do you mind checking on Marvin for me?”

“That does sound odd,” Anti said flatly. “First, where are you? Second, why me? Third, Marvin is a grown man, why are you asking me to check on him? Is he sick again?”

“I’m at a rehearsal,” JJ explained. “I wanted to cancel, but Darla wouldn’t let me. Said we’re getting too close to the show to skip rehearsals now. And I need you to check on him because…well, he’s not sick. At least, I don’t think so. But he’s been acting…strange.”

“Hmm. How so?”

“Well, I don’t think he’s been sleeping well,” Jameson confided. “Sometimes, if I stay up late, I can…hear him. And he hasn’t left his room unless he needs to for work. He even takes his food in there, which is something he _definitely_ doesn’t do. I think he’s worried about something, but won’t tell me. So maybe you could check on him? See if he’s…I don’t know, just alright?”

“Okay, back to my second question, then,” Anti said flatly. “Why me?”

“Well, normally I’d ask Jac—” Jameson cut off. Then when he spoke again, it was a bit slower, more cautious. “I tried calling Henrik, but he’s not picking up. Not responding to texts either. So it has to be you.”

Anti was silent for a while. If Marvin was worried about something, maybe that had to do with his knife-themed visit last week? Maybe it was a bigger problem than he’d let on. “Alright, fine, I can check on him,” he finally said.

JJ exhaled a breath of relief. “Thanks, Anti.”

“I’m going to bill you for my bus fare, Jackson.”

“That’s fine, just make sure everything’s okay.”

Anti hung up. Guess it was time to travel across town. Before he left, he grabbed one of his knives, and, after a little bit of hesitation, his gun as well. Just in case.

Travelling by bus, it was a little over thirty minutes to get from Anti’s apartment to Marvin and JJ’s house. Anti arrived at a little past midday, and found the door locked. Made sense, but he couldn’t exactly check on someone inside if he was stuck outside. Anti looked around to make sure the street was empty, then pulled a pair of paperclips out of his pocket, straightened them, and after a little bit of fiddling with the lock he was inside.

“Hello?” Anti slowly shut the door behind him. “Marvin? Jackson told me to check on you.” His calls received no answer. Didn’t Jameson say Marvin was staying in his room all the time? He was probably still there, then. Anti walked down the hall until he found the door to Marvin’s room, and he knocked. “Marvin? Are you in there?”

After a moment of silence, footsteps approached the door. It opened a crack, through which Anti could see a familiar turquoise-blue eye staring, wide, and then it opened all the way and Marvin was there. “Anti? What’re ye doin’ here?” he asked, surprised.

“Jackson told me to check on you,” Anti explained.

Marvin frowned. “Well, consider me checked on. T’ank you.” He started to close the door again, only to find Anti’s foot in the way. He sighed. “Really, I apprec’ate Jems’ concern, but I am fine.”

“If you’re fine, can I come inside?” Anti asked.

Marvin blinked. “Ahm…sure.” He stepped aside, letting Anti push the door open.

Marvin’s room looked the same as ever. Just a little messier than usual. Mr. Fluffington was sitting on the bed, in a loaf formation. “Please tell me you’ve been letting that cat out to eat and do his business,” Anti muttered.

“Well, of course. What am I, an animal?”

“I don’t know, if Jackson’s right and you’ve been staying in your room all day, then I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been keeping the cat in there with you all the time.”

Marvin bristled. “I haven’ been staying in my room _all_ day. I go to work.”

“And apparently that’s about it.” Anti turned on Marvin. “Look, as someone whose job doesn’t give me an excuse to leave the house, I can tell you from experience that staying in one place all day is bad for you. It’ll bring you down.”

“I…I know,” Marvin stuttered. “But…t’is is…isn’ what you t’ink it is. Or what Jems t’inks it is, it sounds like.”

“Alright, then what is it?”

Before Marvin could answer, Mr. Fluffington hissed. Both men looked over at the cat in unison as he stood up, fur on end and ears flattened, and stared out the room’s door.

Marvin paled. He spun around and backed away from the doorway, eyes wide. “Close the door,” he said.

Anti blinked. “What?”

“Close the door!” Marvin yelled. He turned and ran until he was as far from the door as possible, gripping his cane tight. “Why are you jus’ standin’ there?! Close it!”

“Why are you freaking out so much?” Anti said, exasperated. “What, ‘cause the cat’s freaked out?”

“Jus’ close it! Do it!” Marvin closed his eyes, covering his ears with his hands. His cane clattered to the floor.

“I don’t under—alright, fine.” Anti huffed. He turned, and reached for the doorknob. And then he stopped. His eyes lost focus for a moment, staring into nothing. Thoughts got lost inside a gray fog.

And then Marvin screamed.

Anti had his knife drawn and his gun halfway out before he knew what was happening. He spun around to see Marvin had fallen to his knees, burying his face in his hands. “Hey!” Anti ran across the room to stand next to him. “What happened?”

Marvin didn’t move for a long moment. And then he raised his head. Two thin streams of blood were leaking from his eyes.

Anti stumbled back. He remembered this. It had happened before, a few months ago, and it had happened when—

His head whipped around the room, scanning the surroundings. “I know you’re there,” he growled. “Scared to show yourself?”

Silence. Anti backed up, pulling his gun from its holster. He turned his head left, and then when he turned it back to the right there was a grinning face inches from his own. Anti cried out and started to raise his gun, but then a blackened hand snapped out, fingers wrapping around his throat. The hand smacked his head against the wall once, twice, three times, then let go, letting him sink, dazed, to the floor. 

He stayed there, slumped, for a while, until he heard a loud _meow._ Anti shook his head, looking down to see the cat next to him, resting his front paw on his leg. Fluffington butted his head against Anti’s arm, then darted towards the door and back again. “Wh…?” It was only then that Anti realized Marvin was gone. “Oh, I think the fuck not.” He climbed to his feet. His gun was missing, possibly dropped by him, but he didn’t have time to look for it. “Kitty, stay here, I’ll get him back.” And he ran.

The front door was wide open. Running outside, Anti looked around. He caught the tail end of a brown jacket—Marvin’s jacket—disappearing around the corner. He growled, slammed the door behind him, and broke into a sprint.

He turned the corner and saw Marvin right away, walking down the empty street as if in a daze. “Hey! Get back here!” Anti ran, catching up to Marvin easily. He grabbed him by the back of the jacket and spun him around, staring into wide, blank, bleeding eyes. “Marvin, snap the fuck out of it! You’re stronger than this!”

Marvin’s head slowly tilted to the side, as if trying to hear the words but finding it difficult. Laughter came from somewhere, and the sound of whispering. Marvin’s eyes suddenly narrowed. Anti saw what was coming a moment before it happened, throwing himself backwards in time to avoid the sudden swing of Marvin’s cane. When had he picked that back up? Anti shook his head. Not important. “I’m not your enemy! Put that down!”

Another swing. Anti couldn’t quite avoid this one, but managed to cover his head, so the topper of the cane hit his arms and not his temple. He backed up, eyes searching the street. “Where’s your gray friend now?” He half-yelled. “What, he’s gonna make you do all the fighting? Come on, Marvin! It’s Distorter! Remember what he is!”

The blank expression on Marvin’s face shifted a little, but then the blood streams from his eyes thickened. A small sound of pain came from his throat, and he swung again. Sloppily this time, and Anti dodged easily.

“He tried to kill Henrik!” Anti shouted. “He tried to kill me! He probably would’ve killed Jameson—your best friend Jems, remember?! Hey, remember how he kidnapped Jackie and we haven’t seen him in months?! Or how he’s probably done something awful to you that you that you’ve forgotten?!” His voice dropped to a low tone. “Or are you too afraid to remember?”

Marvin froze, eyes flickering. Slowly, he reached up and grabbed his head with one hand. His expression became pained. His breathing started speeding up, and for a moment, his eyes settled solidly on a spot next to Anti.

A message. Anti lunged to the side, towards the spot Marvin was looking at. He connected with something solid, which cried out as both of them fell to the ground.

Anti blinked, and it was like a curtain had been lifted. Distorter was there, clearly visible now that whatever mental trick he’d been using to filter out his presence had been lifted. Anti had him pinned to the ground, practically kneeling on his chest. Yet he was still smiling. “ ~~Oh, nice job,~~ ” he said, tone cold. “ ~~Maybe you’re smarter than you look.~~ ”

“What,” Anti growled, “the _fuck_ are you doing to him?”

“ ~~Maybe he’s just remembering who his friends are.~~ ” Distorter shrugged awkwardly. “ ~~You should be worried about what the fuck I’m gonna do to you.~~ ”

There was movement in the corner of Anti’s vision. He glanced toward it, seeing Distorter’s arm was moving, slithering across the sidewalk pavement. He was holding something—

Anti yelped, scrambling sideways, just in time to avoid—

_BANG!_

The sound of the gunshot left ringing in his ears. He shook his head, climbing to his feet. Distorter stood up, too. His left shoulder twisted awkwardly, arm dangling., but he showed no reaction. In his right hand, he was holding Anti’s gun. “ ~~Hmm…that’s a bit too quick, huh?~~ ” Distorter dropped the gun, kicking it away. “ ~~For the likes of you, at least.~~ ”

“What is your _deal_ with me?!” Anti suddenly screamed, snapping completely. “I get it, Volt and Jackson got in your way, what did _I_ do?!”

“ ~~Well, you did shoot at me that one time,~~ ” Distorter drawled. “ ~~Do you even remember that? Eh. It’s also the fact that you _exist,_ you know?~~”

“Oh really? Maybe I have a problem with you existing, too!” Anti reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife again. “Maybe you should just get out of here and leave us all alone!”

Distorter laughed. “ ~~Not the best comebacks you can come up with, huh? Or is it just that you don’t want to voice your _actual_ thoughts where they can be heard?~~”

Something inside Anti’s chest froze, beating ice through his veins. “Wh…what do you mean…?” He asked, voice hushed.

Distorter’s head lolled to the side. “ ~~Oh, I’ve seen inside your head, remember? All the sordid details of your past are there for me to see! All those bloody thoughts are broadcast clearly, brainwaves more like radio waves. Wow, they let you have a _kid_ with you, when you think the things you do? Unbelievable! Does he know how often his dad thinks about drawing strangers’ blood, or—~~”

Anti screamed, and lunged. He was holding a knife in his hand. Next thing he knew the blade was covered in red, and Distorter was laughing, laughing, laughing, as the same red soaked through his gray shirt in five different places. Anti staggered back, breathing hard. He looked down at his hand. And the knife fell from his shaking fingers as horror dawned on him.

“ ~~Are you _trying_ to prove my point?!~~” Distorter was bent over with laughter. “ ~~God, I couldn’t have planned that better if I tried! Seriously! You—~~ ”

_BANG!_

Distorter staggered sideways, a sixth red stain blossoming on the side of his shirt. Anti stared at it, then followed the path the bullet would’ve taken…over to Marvin, pointing the gun with trembling hands.

“I t’ink it’s a little diff’rent when it’s you,” Marvin said. He sounded a little shocked, but his voice didn’t waver. “How many of these do you t’ink you can survive?”

Distorter’s smile never wavered, but something changed in his black eyes. Somehow, he now looked distinctively… _displeased._ “ ~~Marvin…Marvin, I can’t believe you would do this.~~ ” 

“Don’ sound so betrayed!” Marvin shrieked. “I remember what you did to me!”

Tension filled the moment, each pause waiting for something to happen as all three remained frozen. Then, without another word, Distorter turned on his heel and started walking away. Only a few steps later, and anyone watching had their vision fuzz over, and he was gone.

Marvin let out a breath he’d been holding. He turned to look at Anti, still standing frozen, and walked toward him. As soon as he got close enough, Marvin leaned down and picked up the blood-covered knife from where it had fallen on the ground. “Do you…want this back?” he asked.

“Don’t give that to me,” Anti whispered.

Marvin seemed a little surprised at the response, but he nodded, flipping it closed and stuffing it in his pocket. He looked a little unsure about what to do with the gun, and ended up just holding it. “We should…should go back, right?”

Anti didn’t say anything. But he nodded. And when Marvin started walking, he followed.

They arrived back at the house, finding that nothing inside had changed. Anti settled down on the sofa in the living room, staring into nothing while Marvin made sure the cat was alright. When Marvin returned, holding Mr. Fluffington in his arms, Anti was still in the same place.

Marvin sat in his usual chair, letting Fluffington loaf on his lap. “Anti…” He cleared his throat. “You seem kind of…shaken. Do you…want to talk abou’ it?”

“No.”

Marvin watched Anti for a while more. Then nodded. He set the gun and the knife on the nearest table, then picked up a book and started to read.

A few minutes passed in silence.

“It’s not my fault,” Anti suddenly blurted out.

Marvin looked up. “Of course not.”

“It happens sometimes. You know, your thoughts get kind of carried away?”

“Of course.”

“And you don’t really even want them.”

“No, not at all.”

“But sometimes you just keep thinking the same thing, just kind of going in circles and feeling the same thing and it’s like you can’t let go of it like some kind of fucking obsession and you know it’s not—” Anti broke off, taking a deep shaky breath.

Marvin nodded. “It’s not good, is it?”

“No.”

More silence.

For a while, they just stayed there. After a few minutes passed, Anti shifted position on the sofa, ending up closer to Marvin. After ten more minutes, he relaxed a bit, curling into the couch cushions. Twenty minutes after that, and Anti had closed his eyes. He wasn’t asleep. But he felt like he could’ve fallen asleep, if he wanted. The silence was as warm and soft as being wrapped in a blanket.

Marvin didn’t say anything. Sometimes you needed words. Sometimes you’d already said all you could. And that was fine. You’re allowed to take your time.


	11. Weight of Their Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Jackie is still missing, JJ takes it upon himself to make sure everyone is doing alright. Though perhaps he's taken on more than he can handle...

The alarm went off at eight o’clock am. The beeping had been ramped up in volume, something that Jameson suddenly very much regretted. He also regretted that he’d set his alarm clock on his bookshelf across the room, instead of the nightstand right next to him. He groaned and rolled over, briefly considering throwing a magic bolt at the clock to shut it up, but instead stood up and walked over to turn it off. He sighed. Well, he was awake now.

Normally, JJ was more of a morning person than a late waker. But he hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Last night, the last he’d glanced at the glowing digital numbers of the clock, it was 3:45 am. And he remembered waking up a couple times, too. He was probably nervous about what he had planned today. 

Which reminded him. He needed to get ready. He went through the drawers and found a set of clothes for the day, then went downstairs. While heating up a cinnamon roll for breakfast, he jotted a note down for Marvin, explaining where he would be all day:

_Sorry, I won’t be around all day. I have that meeting with another magician at nine, that one I told you about a few days ago. Then I’m going to go visit a few people and study at the library. I have rehearsal starting at 4:30, you can come watch if you want. See you later! -JJ_

He hoped that would help. Marvin hated being out of the loop.

After that, it was a half hour to get ready, and another half hour to take the car and drive to the park, where he’d be meeting…someone. He wasn’t sure what they would look like. About two weeks ago, he’d reached out to the ABIM—the organization that functioned as a loose government for magicians. He didn’t know much about them, having only interacted with them maybe once or twice. But…well, things were starting to look bad. Jackie had been missing for six months. He hadn’t had any luck scrying for Jackie’s location, and there were no signs of Distorter to go off of, either. He hadn’t seen Anti in person in a few weeks, Schneep was being evasive as well, and Marvin…well, he wasn’t exactly talking about what was going on with him, but Jameson could hear him and his nightmares through the floorboards.

So of course, Jameson had to do something about this. He couldn’t just let everything fall apart. He had to make sure the others were alright, had to find some way to help fix everything. But at this point, he couldn’t do it on his own. Which is why he reached out to the ABIM, hoping other magicians would have some sort of advice. A week ago, they’d gotten back to him, saying they would send a representative out to talk.

Which was why he was in the park right now, walking around the perimeter of the small pond, looking for someone. The park was pretty empty at nine in the morning, on a cloudy weekday, so it was easy to see the only other person around. She spotted him at the same moment, waving him over to a bench sitting by the pond’s shore.

“So. You’re Mr. Jameson Jackson, then?” She asked, eyes scanning him as he approached.

“Yes. And who are you?” He scanned her in turn. She wasn’t too unusual, he supposed. Well, she stood out a bit because of her red hair and green eyes, a rare combination. But her jeans, T-shirt, and zip-up hoodie didn’t seem too magical to him.

“My name’s Aoife Kelley,” she said. “I’m part of the Magi, which is a subdivision of ABIM. How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine, I suppose. You?”

“Good. Here, let’s sit.” Aoife gestured to the wrought-iron bench. Once JJ sat down, she did as well. “Now, then. To business.” She muttered a few words, and reached forward. Her eyes flared golden yellow, and her hand disappeared, like she’d slid it into a pocket in the air. JJ jumped in alarm, then stared in fascination. He’d never seen a spell like this before. Aoife’s hand pulled back, suddenly holding a blue binder. She flipped it open. “I’m going to just ask you a few questions, see if we have your information right.”

JJ nodded. “Alright.”

“Your name’s Jameson Daniel Jackson. Male. British nationality, Caucasian race. Twenty-seven years old, birthday October 31st, 1990.”

“Yes, that’s all correct.”

“Elemental magic with an ice/water focus, as well as a lesser healing ability. You work as a stage magician?” Aoife raised an eyebrow at that last part.

“Yes.” JJ tried not to squirm. Ironically, he didn’t like being the center of attention. At least, not on such an… _individual_ level. “If you’re going to lecture me about the dangers of using magic on stage, I’ve already heard it from one of you. I’m being cautious.”

Aoife grinned. “Well, alright, if you’re sure.” She looked back at the file. “There’s no history of magic in your family, nor is there a history of mental illness in you or your bloodline.”

That last part was a bit odd. “Yes, that’s right.” JJ coughed awkwardly. “Are…can we get to the purpose of this meeting? I’d planned to meet up with someone else after this.”

“Oh. Yes, right.” Aoife flipped the binder close. “Sorry to keep you.”

“No, it’s fine, it’s not too pressing.” JJ shrugged. “I just…this is a…rather pressing situation I’m in, and I would really appreciate any advice you have on the matter.”

Aoife’s brows scrunched together. “Well, y’see. That’s the problem.”

Jameson felt his heart stop. “What do you mean?”

“This…creature, that you say is following you. That took one of your friends…” Aoife bit her lip. “We…don’t have any records of something like it.”

Jameson could only stare at her. “I’m sorry?”

“We don’t have any records of it.” She opened the binder again, pulling out a piece of paper. Jameson recognized it. It was a printed-out copy of the letter he’d sent to the ABIM online. Because surprisingly enough, the magical organization had an official website. Aoife scanned through the typed words. “It’s something that appears to be human, but with that head injury, it can’t be a _living_ human. And its array of powers…being able to confuse people, sometimes directly control them, and otherwise make it so the mind doesn’t register it as existing…” She tucked the letter back in the binder. “…we don’t have anything like that in our files.”

“Tha—that’s impossible,” Jameson said softly. “You must have something in there. Maybe something buried deep—”

“Yeah, I checked all our records,” Aoife said firmly. “My permissions are pretty high-up, I have access to everything. And I couldn’t find anything like this. Oh sure, there are records of undead that fit the physical description, and some creatures with similar powers, but nothing that fits.” Aoife paused. “I have to ask…are you sure this thing is really out there?”

“Am I sure?” Jameson asked, incredulous. “Am I _sure?!_ He kidnapped one of my friends and poisoned another! Convinced one of them to walk out into moving traffic! My housemate has nightmares about him that wake him up screa—” Jameson took a deep breath, clenching his fists in an effort to calm down. “We’ve all seen it. Of course we’re sure.”

“Alright. Alright.” Aoife raised her hands, as if in surrender. “I believe you. But, well…some of the others don’t.”

“Some of the others?” Jameson repeated, eyes narrowing.

“Yes,” Aoife confirmed. “It’s a big group, and your request for aid got passed around a lot, looking for someone to help. Some of them think you’re making it up, some of them think you’re mistaken…a few of them think you’ve lost your marbles.” Suddenly the question about history of mental illness made more sense. “But the fact of the matter is, we just…we’ve never heard of anything like this before.”

“Why would I make it up?” Jameson asked quietly.

Aoife shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think you are. But not everyone does. If you could show some sort of proof, it would be helpful.”

“Oh, do you want me to take a picture of him, next time I see it?” JJ drawled. “In between the moments of me fighting for my friends’ lives and free wills?”

“I don’t know,” Aoife said quietly. She stood up, tucking the binder under her arm. “Look, I’m sorry, but until there’s some sort of evidence…we really can’t help you.”

Jameson shot to his feet as well. “Then why did you even agree to meet with me in the first place?”

“Well, it would be rude to just dismiss you in an email,” Aoife said calmly. “Impersonal, you know?” Her voice softened a bit. “Look, I want to help, but I can’t as long as we don’t know what this is. We just need something to show that this…what you’re saying it is. And if it is, then…well…” She pauses. “Then we’ve never seen anything like this before. And we’ll need time. And information.” She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular piece of wood. She held it out to JJ, who took it silently. Looking down at it, he saw a phone number burned into the wood surface. “This is my personal cell, call me when you’ve…got something. Okay?” She waited for him to nod, then smiled. “Be seeing you.” And without another word, she left.

Jameson stared down at the wooden card, then tucked it into his pocket. He watched Aoife walk away, until she was out of the park and out of the sight. Then he turned, let out a cry of frustration, and kicked a rock out onto the surface of the pond. Where it landed, ripples turned the water a bright, glowing blue that slowly faded away.

He shook his head, making an effort to breathe slowly and deeply. If they’ve never heard of anything like Distorter before, it made sense that they needed proof. Just to make sure he wasn’t pranking them or anything. But _god,_ was it frustrating. What was he supposed to do?! When and how was he supposed to get evidence that Distorter existed?! The gray man hadn’t been seen in months! Not to mention, part of him wondered how much help the other magicians could really be, if they’ve never seen anything like Distorter before. All that meant…all that meant was that they were dealing with a threat unlike anything before. Jameson shivered.

No, he’d…he’d figure it out. He had to. Maybe he could modify some of the mind protection spells he found, so they could ward a specific place? Maybe work them into some sort of offensive spell? Or he could put a little more effort into the tracking spells, if he just tried a little more he was sure he could find Jackie.

JJ headed out of the park and back towards his car. He’d planned to do the studying after he got all his visits for the day done, but his mind was already brewing. He could adjust the schedule a bit. Time to head to the library.

* * *

The clock read 9:34am, a fact which surprised Schneep when he looked at it.

Didn’t it say 12 just a few minutes ago? No, there had been a 3:40 in that interim somewhere. Or was it 6?

_You really should go to sleep._

Schneep shook his head. “No, I’m fine. Shut up.”

There was a figure hovering in the corner of his eyes. _You’re going to kill yourself before you get anything done._

You weren’t supposed to acknowledge it. Schneep knew this. But it was a little hard to ignore it when it looked like one of your friends. Still, he didn’t answer this time, instead backing up to get a full view of the map he’d taped up on the wall. He used to have this entirely digital, but he’d tried printing in all out on paper, see if that helped. The map was littered with push pins, strings tying together locations to newspaper articles he’d found and taped to the wall. He was aware this looked like a crazy conspiracy board, but it was sort of helping.

The figure hovered closer. It looked close enough to reach out and touch, peering over his shoulder. _Is it going to help? You look terrible. Is it really worth it?_

“Yes,” Schneep breathed, leaning on the back of the couch. “Yes, if I can find you. It’s worth it.”

There was a knock at the apartment’s door. Schneep jumped, trying to back up but somehow managing to fall over the back of the sofa instead. Who was at the door? Who came to see him? Was it him, the gray man, coming to finish the job?

Another knock. “Dude, I can and I will pick your lock, let me in.”

He knew that voice, he realized, standing up. But was that proof? What if it was someone pretending to be him?

Oh, too late, the handle was rattling. The door opened to reveal Anti, who entered and closed the door behind him. He looked around the apartment, whistling. “This place is bigger mess than the room of a nine-year-old who refuses to clean. What’s up, Volt?” He paused. “You look terrible.”

_I told you._

“Thank you,” Schneep muttered. “What are you doing here?”

“Um, I just…” Anti looked around the area again. “I was in the neighborhood. Why do you have a serial killer board up on your wall?”

“Shut up,” Schneep snapped. He put his hands on his hips and looked over the wall. “I am trying to figure things out. It is a new approach.”

“Uh-huh.” Anti’s eyes darted over the wall. “Figure what kind of things out?”

“You know what I mean! Anything, everything!” Schneep began pacing the length of his living area. On the edges of his vision, there was a shadow of a red hoodie, of big round glasses and brown hair. _Is it worth it? Is it going to work?_ “It will work,” Schneep insisted. “I-I can find you.”

“Um…” Anti glanced around the apartment. “Who’re you talking to?”

Shit, no. Anti couldn’t know. Not now. Schneep really didn’t feel like being analyzed by Mr. Psychology-Is-My-Hobby. He whirled around, pointing at the wall. “I am keeping track of everything, everything odd in the last few years. Is very strange, you see? There are a high number of disappearances, and of accidents in the city. More so than in other cities.” He felt his eye twitching, a tiny pulse in his lid. He ignored it. “It is no wonder the police have been no help in finding him, they are useless at this!”

“Really?” Anti looked over the newspaper articles, taking in all the headlines. “You think maybe it’s…you know, all been him?”

“Possibly, possibly.”

 _This isn’t going to work._ The shadow was whispering in his ear. _You’re slowly dying over this, and it’s not worth it. Can you really find me? You haven’t had success so far._

Schneep waved in the direction of the shadow, as if trying to clear it. “Shut up.”

“I wasn’t saying anything,” Anti said, looking at him skeptically. “You…did you go to sleep last night?”

Apparently not. Or maybe the clocks were lying to him. Schneep almost sat down on the sofa, but he knew if he did that, he wouldn’t want to stand up and keep working. And that was the most important thing. Keep working. He had to succeed eventually. “Anti,” he said. “Can you do something?”

“Uh, depends on what it is.”

“Where have you been?” Schneep asked. “I have not seen you in, mmm, a couple of months now. Not outside of text.”

Anti shifted uncomfortably, rubbing his neck. “Well. Y’know. Been busy. Is…is that what you wanted me to do? Answer the question?”

What question? Wait, what? What was happening? Schneep shook his head. “No. I am sorry, I got distracted. I wanted to know if you could…I do not know, do something to keep me thinking.”

Anti took a step back. “Um, what?”

“Like one of those stories you like,” Schneep said. “Those spooky ones you tell. Tell one of those, I want to think about something else for a while.” The shadow stood beside him. “But I do not want to think of nothing.”

“Uh. Sure, I guess.” Anti flung himself down on the nearest armchair. “I can think of one you haven’t heard yet. You gonna sit down?”

“No.”

“Well, uh. Alright, then.” Anti bit his lip, thinking. “I could tell you the story about the house on Aspen Street.”

Schneep blinked. “I think you have mentioned that before. But I do not remember it.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve talked about it.” Anti flashed a grin. “But I always got stopped from talking about it, by Jackson and Jac—” He cut himself off. “Well, I can do it now.”

“Why would they stop you from talking about it?”

“I guess it could be kind of freaky. I mean, it starts with a true story.” Anti sat up straight. “Five years ago, we all turned on the evening news to a shocking story. A family of four had been found dead. Tragic enough in itself, but things start to become even bleaker once you heard the rest.”

Schneep sat down on the sofa. He gestured for Anti to continue.

Anti’s eyes lit up. “The house was 68 Aspen Street. For years, it had been home to a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter. It had been a happy place, a haven. But things started to crack and fall apart. The parents began arguing. About what, we don’t know. Maybe it was money, or bad habits, or the kids, or anything else that could drive two people apart. But drive them apart it did. And eventually the mother couldn’t handle it anymore. She took the kids and left, filing for divorce. It went through, of course, and the father was left alone in the house that had once been full of loved ones.”

“Now, the details of what happened next are hard to fudge out. We know that the kids visited their father on the weekends, and that they were the only people he saw regularly. The father was fired from his job, and had no luck finding anything new. The neighbors stopped seeing him, as he stayed in the house almost every day. He became a recluse who only really lived for his family. A family that was seeing him less and less.”

“One spring day, the kids and their mother disappeared. The police investigated the father, of course, but they found no evidence that he was involved in any way. Until a week later. A neighbor called the authorities, saying she heard gunshots. Four of them, to be precise. Three close together, and one a little bit after. It came from the house on Aspen Street. When the police arrived, they found the whole family. Dead. The father was still holding a handgun.”

Anti paused. “And from there? Well, stories like that tend to linger. Sad spirits refuse to leave. They say the house on Aspen Street is haunted by the family. People who live there tend to get in accidents. And those who get out before the accidents kill them, they always report hearing voices, having things move when they aren’t there…and seeing the figures of the family. Watching. Waiting.”

The apartment was silent. Then Schneep suddenly took a deep breath. “That is a…that is a very sad story,” he whispered.

“Yeah. It is.” Anti said nothing else. The events spoke for themselves.

“You are very good at scaring people, Anti, your voice can be quite…eerie,” Schneep said.

“Thanks.” Anti grinned. “Now. You should go to sleep.”

“Maybe I will. But not if you are here.” Schneep stood up, and pointed at the door. “So, out.”

“Okay, fine.” Anti started to leave, but paused just before reaching the door. He turned around. “Are…are you doing…?” He seemed to have trouble asking the question he really wanted to.

“I am fine,” Schneep insisted.

“You’re going to go to sleep now, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re…you feel…you’re…?”

“Yes, I am fine. Now leave.”

Anti seemed to hesitate, but he opened the door and left, closing it behind him.

Once he was gone, Schneep sighed. He turned to look back at the wall. Something about that story…something was niggling at his mind. He walked up to the map, grabbed a spare push pin, and pushed it into the paper, right at 68 Aspen Street.

_You really think this’ll help? It won’t._

“Shut up,” Schneep muttered. “You are not here now, Jackie. You are somewhere else. And I will find you, and bring you back. I…” He leaned his head against the wall. “I promise.”

* * *

JJ lost track of time in the library. He meant to only stay there until twelve, but when he next checked the time on his phone, it was 1:30. He immediately cleaned up, reshelving the books. He had to be sure to do it himself. After all, these weren’t normal books. They were spell books, hidden in part of the library’s reference section for any magician to use if they wished. Well, as long as the magician was registered with the ABIM, since they were the people who allowed someone to see through the concealing ward around the books.

He was…tired. He’d spent about of of his time practicing the spells he read about, hidden in a nook on the second floor of the library. And four and a half hours of consistent magic use was…draining. But it didn’t matter. He had more to do.

A short drive later, JJ parked in the driveway of a familiar house. He grabbed the tupperware container he’d had sitting in the car since he left that morning, climbed out, walked up to the threshold, and rang the doorbell. A short while later, the door was opened…by seemingly nobody. JJ looked down. “Oh. Hello, Michelle.”

“Hi Uncle JJ,” Michelle said. “Are you looking for Dad? He’s not here.”

“No, I-I know.” JJ tried to smile. It came out smaller than he intended. Of course Jackie wasn’t here. “I’m looking for your ren.”

“Oh. Okay.” Michelle darted back into the room, leaving the door open. “Ren! Uncle JJ is here! He wants to see you!”

JJ walked inside. The living room looked the same as ever. Except for the coat rack by the door. The white coat hanging from one of its hooks had a bit more dust.

Rama appeared from down the hallway. “Thanks for getting the door, Michelle,” they said, ruffling their daughter’s hair. Then they looked up at JJ. “Good to see you again, Jameson.”

“Good to see you too,” Jameson nodded. He showed off the tupperware container he was holding. “I made cake. Thought you’d want some.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Rama brushed a strand of their hair behind their ear. They hadn’t been wearing the red beanie they used to lately. “C’mon, let’s go in the kitchen.”

Jameson nodded. He shut the door behind him and followed Rama to the house’s kitchen. He set the container on the counter while Rama pulled open the silverware drawer and took out a couple forks. “Here,” they handed one to JJ.

“Oh, no, I mean thank you, but I-I already have some at home,” Jameson stammered. “This is for you.”

Rama nodded, putting one of the forks back. They peeled the lid off the tupperware and took out one of the slices inside, putting it on a plate already sitting on the counter. “So. Is this the part of the visit where you ask me how we’re doing?”

Jameson paused. “It can be.”

“Well…I guess we’re as okay as possible.” Rama plunged the fork into the cake slice. “Nothing much has changed since you last visited. Which I appreciate, by the way, you checking in.”

“It’s no problem.” Jameson smiled sadly.

Rama chuckled. There were dark bags under their dark eyes. “Does Michelle still say the same thing when she opens the door?”

“Yes,” Jameson said softly. ‘Are you looking for Dad? He’s not here.’ “How is she?”

“I don’t know.” Rama shook their head. “I’m worried about her, you know. The effect this could have on her, especially if…” They stop. They’d been toying with a part of the cake slice, and they finally put it in their mouth. They swallowed visibly. “The police aren’t giving us updates anymore. The last time they showed up, the detective lady said that, statistically, the longer someone is missing, the more likely it is that they’re…” They trailed off. Then they shook their head, a determined set to their face. “Jackieboy is a fighter. He’s always been tougher than people give him credit for, including himself.”

“He really is.” Jameson nodded in agreement. “People often mistake kindness for weakness. But he’s not weak at all.”

Rama looked…reassured by that. They looked down at their cake slice. “Did you know…that his birthday was last week?”

Jameson was silent for a moment. “..yes,” he whispered. July 10th.

Rama nodded, as if that’s all they wanted. “Well, thank you for the cake.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m sure you have much else to do today.”

He did, but that didn’t matter. “I can stay longer, if you want.”

“No, no, you go ahead,” Rama waved. “This has been nice, and…and thank you.”

“Alright, if you’re sure.” Jameson headed for the door. “Anything else you need?”

Rama smiled. “No. That’s enough.”

Jameson nodded, and without anything else, he left.

Once outside, he leaned back against the closed door and let out a long, long breath. It felt like there was something pressing down on his spine, making his head want to dip forward. Or maybe it was on his head itself. Or somewhere inside it. But he couldn’t let it happen. He had more to do. It was 1:52, he only had three and a half hours left before rehearsal. Plenty of time for his last visit, but maybe once that was done he could squeeze in another bout of studying. Maybe he could find some sort of spell that would lighten someone’s mood, if only for a little. Or a potion, that would be better. He could learn how potions work, if it could help them. He could do it. He could do it.

Jameson bit back a yawn as he got back in the car. It wouldn’t be too far a drive.

Fifteen minutes later, JJ was knocking on the door to Schneep’s apartment. There was no answer. He waited for another minute, then knocked again. He heard something fall over. “Um…Henrik? Are you doing okay in there?”

The door opened. Schneep was standing in the doorway, his hair wild, his shirt rumpled and with some sort of spill staining the blue material. He was wearing one of his electrical gloves, the ones that would shock someone upon contact, and judging by the wide-eyed look on his face, he was prepared to use it. But he relaxed a bit upon seeing Jameson. “Oh. Is you.”

“Yes, it’s me.” JJ tried to peer around Schneep into the apartment. “Can I come in?”

Schneep muttered something, but stood aside, letting Jameson enter.

JJ paused, taking in the map and pins on the wall. “That’s…new,” he said slowly.

“I am trying a new approach to finding things,” Schneep explained. “What are you doing here?”

Jameson spun to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“What are you doing here? Why are you here? What is your point?” Schneep pressed. “I am having many visitors today, first Anti, then you. What is it? Are you two having a plan?”

“Whoa, hang on, slow down.” JJ raised his hands. “I just wanted to check on you. I haven’t seen you in…in a while, now. I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Well. I am doing fine, so you can go now.” Schneep turned his back to Jameson, walking up to the map. “Shut it.”

“I…I don’t think I said anything?” Jameson said, confused.

Schneep shook his head. “I know. Anyway, you can go now.”

Jameson stayed where he was. “Henrik…” His voice was soft. “Did you sleep…at all, recently?”

“What is with you people asking me that?!” Schneep suddenly yelled, pounding his fist against the wall. “I am fine!”

“That wasn’t my question.” Jameson approached Schneep, stopping within arm’s length. “You…you don’t look good.”

Schneep blinked idly. Dark circles, pale skin, a bit thin…it wasn’t a pretty picture. “Wie spät ist es?” He asked.

“I…I don’t know what you just said,” JJ confessed. “What is spät?”

“What time is it?” Schneep clarified.

Jameson looked at the wall-mounted clock. “It’s ten past two.”

Schneep’s eyes widened briefly, but then he covered it up. “I see.”

“Did you wake up early?” Jameson pressed. “Or…did you not go to sleep at all?”

“You also look like you did not sleep well, what does it matter?” Schneep’s eyes flicked to the side for a moment. “Nein.”

“We’re not talking about me right now, that doesn’t matter,” Jameson said dismissively. “Schneep, are you okay?”

His eyes flicked to the side again. “I am fine, you do not need to keep asking. Perhaps I am tired, but that is all. I have been drinking coffee, it is fine.”

“Of course you have,” Jameson muttered under his breath. “Henrik, you should really go to sleep. Take a nap.”

“I can’t.” Schneep looked at the map. “I am working on things.”

“They’ll still be here when you wake up.”

“You do not know that.”

That was…an odd reaction. “Of course I do.” JJ tried for a laugh. “Things don’t just disappear.”

Schneep didn’t answer, his eyes scanning the map while occasionally flickering to the side, as if he was seeing something move in his peripheral vision.

Jameson stepped forward and placed his hand on Schneep’s shoulder. “Henrik—”

Schneep suddenly screamed. He grabbed Jameson by the wrist, still wearing his electric glove. The shock it sent through Jameson’s body was enough to stun him, so he couldn’t react when Schneep then flipped him over. He landed on the ground with an oof-inducing thump, his head solidly hitting the back of the sofa. He slumped, dazed.

“Mein Gott, Jameson, I-I am sorry!” Schneep was still standing, hand covering his mouth. He pulled off the electric glove and threw it over to the desk, where it landed. “I-I did not mean—! I thought—Jackie—”

“Jackie…?” Jameson sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “What about Jackie?”

“I-I-I—” Schneep was shaking. “I thought he touched me! I thought it was mehr als ein Schatten! I—!”

“Henrik.” Jameson climbed to his feet, using the sofa as support. “Jackie’s not here.”

And Schneep suddenly started crying. “I know that! I know he is not here, but he is! A-and I do not want—! I do not want to stop seeing him!”

Jameson shook his head, bewildered. “Henrik, what are you talking about?”

Schneep buried his face in his hands. “I have been forgetting medication recently, it is making everything confusing!”

“You’re on medication? Hey, it’s okay.” Schneep had fallen to the floor, landing hard on his knees. Jameson knelt beside him. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll help. What’s wrong?”

Schneep grabbed Jameson’s arm. “I did not tell you,” he gasped in between tears. “I d-do not tell anyone. I told Marvin one time, I-I thought he would understand. I do not want anyone to thi-think the worst of me. I would never hurt anyone! Th-these things I see are not dangerous! He knows, the Distorter knows, he pokes fun at me, likes to make his illusions because he knows reality is alrea—sometimes I cannot tell—!”

“Hey, calm down, take deep breaths. I’ll do it with you. In for four…hold for seven…out for eight…in…hold…out…in…hold…out…” It took a few minutes for Schneep to get calm. Once he was fine, Jameson asked, “So…you take some kind of medication?”

Schneep nodded.

“And without it, you see things?”

Another nod.

“And you’ve been forgetting it, so you’re seeing Jackie?”

And another.

“Alright. I understand now.” Jameson nodded. “Henrik…there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I know,” Schneep whispered. “But I am worried others do not know that. That they will think I am…” He trailed off.

“Well, I think you’re a good person. You’re smart, and stubborn, and sarcastic, and…other adjectives that begin with S.” Jameson smiled when that got a laugh out of Schneep. “And this doesn’t change any of that.”

Tears started to gather in Schneep’s eyes again. He buried his face in Jameson’s shirt. 

“See? It’s okay. It’s all okay.” For a moment they were silent. Then Jameson said, “I think you should go to bed now. But not before taking that medication you’ve been missing.”

Schneep nodded. “Stay with me, a while?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll stay with you.”

He had time to.

* * *

Jameson arrived at the theatre for rehearsal. He had not been expecting to spend an extra two hours at Schneep’s apartment, but he wasn’t about to leave while his friend was upset. Even if that friend had fallen asleep within fifteen minutes and hadn’t shown any signs of waking up in all the two hours he was there.

Jameson paused before entering the theatre, leaning against the wall. A few deep breaths. He was tired. God, he was tired. The weight was pressing down, not on his spine or his head, but directly on his mind. But he had to go to rehearsal. Everyone was expecting him. He couldn’t skip one. He couldn’t let down all the crew members that needed to run through everything. And if they missed one, that could delay the show and disappoint the audience. He couldn’t do that. He had to show up. Run through the show. It was only another three hours. He could do it.

It was not encouraging when his stage manager Darla greeted him with a “Where have you been?! You’re ten minutes late!”

“Things came up,” Jameson said. “Now are we ready to start?”

“Yeah, of course.” Darla nodded. “You left your cape and mask here last time, we brought them out, check with Ryan.”

“Got it.” He…hadn’t actually realized he’d left his mask and cape at the theatre. Well it was a good thing the others had found it, and he hadn’t had to drive back home, look for it, not find it, only to drive back and find his stuff already here. He would hate to waste everyone’s time.

Things went smoothly for the first hour. But it was when they all reconvened after a ten-minute break that things started to turn for the worse. For whatever reason, the lights wouldn’t work, and the techies took twenty minutes to figure out the problem. Just when they thought it was fixed, the main spotlight flickered and died. “It’s fine, we’ll just run it without that one,” Jameson said, sighing. He blinked, lingering in the darkness for a while, before opening them and returning to the busy world.

Then he was having trouble remembering his planned lines. True, being a magician didn’t involve nearly as much memorization as being a stage actor, but it was still more than most people thought. Not to mention, it often involved more timing, as you had to get the line to match up perfectly with the trick or it loses all dramatic effect.

Oh yes, the tricks. Jameson’s tricks were a clever combination of real magic and stage magic, a fine balance between the two. Of course, the crew didn’t know about the _real_ magic. They just thought it was some wonderful light tricks and digital effects. So when they magic came out strained, because Jameson had spent three hours trying out new spells earlier that day and was a little lower on energy, that meant the rehearsal was delayed for an entire half hour while the crew tried to fix technical devices that didn’t actually work. Guilt was curdling in Jameson’s stomach. He was making everyone stay late.

And indeed, the time was 8:23 pm and it didn’t look like the rehearsal was anywhere close to being finished. Jameson squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears start to well. No, it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter. Sure, he was tired and his head felt heavy with the events of the day. It didn’t matter. These things weren’t important. What was important was everyone else’s thoughts and feelings. Not his.

“Alright, one more time!” Darla called out. “Start from the levitation trick!”

That trick was…well, tricky. Levitation magic didn’t come naturally to him. Jameson took a deep breath, adjusted his mask, and shouted, “Ready!”

The objects he was levitating—just wooden cubes for now, probably to be replaced with something else in the actual show—were placed on the tables around the stage. Jameson blinked sweat out of his eyes, trying to focus. He chanted the words under his breath, feeling the strain of magic. Like trying to stretch a barely-used muscle after you’d already been working out for half an hour. Focus. Concentrate. Watch the blue magic float around the target, watch them wobble, then lift, slowly, trembling in the air—

“It snapped!”

“Backdrop’s coming down!”

“Watch out!”

The shouts snapped him out of concentration, sending the cubes crashing to the ground. Jameson whirled around to see the painted backdrop crashing down as well, landing just a few feet from him. He stared at it where it landed. The shouts of the crew members faded into buzzing background noise.

He could fix this.

He could fix it, he could help.

It was alright.

It was fine, he could help.

He could—

He felt his heart burning cold.

Tears slipped from his eyes, from under his mask, only to freeze the moment they left his face, shattering on the floor.

The buzzing background noise was growing louder, louder, it was a storm inside his head, thoughts whirling in a whiteout of feelings he couldn’t name, he was tired, he was so so tired, tired of this, tired of _everything—_

A blizzard exploded on the stage.

Wind howled, blue chips of cold magic swirling around him in a storm, a storm, a storm. Beneath his feet the wood of the stage groaned as the temperature dropped, glowing icicles of freezing magic jabbing from the ground. He’d fallen to his hands and knees. All he could see was blue and white and blue and white and blue and white—

Someone was shouting. He was vaguely aware of the sound through the screaming gales in his mind. The magic storm swirled taller, reaching the lights above and freezing their bulbs until they burst.

Someone was in front of him. He could see their shape in the fog of the magic flakes. They grabbed him by the arms, started shaking. He didn’t respond. Just stared. Tears were still slipping down, freezing his mask to his face.

Slowly, a voice started to pierce the winds. “—Jems! You can’ keep t’is up, you’ll hurt someone! Yourself, too! Jems! Look at me!”

Jameson’s eyes focused on the someone in front of him. A familiar face. Marvin. “Are you alrigh’, Jems?” he asked.

And Jameson shook his head.

“What’s wrong? Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

He shook his head again. How was he supposed to say so much? How was he supposed to explain about how he was being crushed? Crushed first by Jackie going missing, by Distorter being out there and ready to fuck with them at any time, and the other magicians wouldn’t or couldn’t help, so he had to do it on his own, he had to make sure his friends were safe from this creature, he had to learn some way to keep him at bay, and he had to be there for everyone else, had to listen to all their problems, had to make breakfast in the morning after Marvin had another nightmare, had to bring food and anything that could help to Rama and Michelle who’d just lost a husband and a father who might not come back, had to figure out what was wrong with Anti, had to check on Schneep because he was in danger of working himself to death while being attacked by his own mind, he had to do all this and it was crushing him, it was killing him, he couldn’t handle everyone’s problems as well as his own, couldn’t hold their grief and his too, but it didn’t matter didn’t matter shouldn’t matter should it matter? couldn’t matter in the face of all—

Oh. Oh, Marvin was hugging him. He was shivering, in the face of this cold storm coming from Jameson, but he was still hugging him. There was frost forming on his jacket, but he wasn’t leaving.

Jameson leaned his head on Marvin’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around his friend. His shoulders started to shake. But the storm died down, ice covering the stage melted into nothing. Things were warm again.

“We’re goin’ to go home,” Marvin said in a voice that left no room for argument. “We’re goin’ to go home. And we’ll relax tonight, and tomorrow, too.”

Jameson started to shake his head. He couldn’t let Marvin worry about him—

“Yes, we are.” Marvin stood up, still holding Jameson close. “You do a lot for others, Jems. Let someone else do somet’ing for you.”

That…that sounded really nice. Jameson grabbed the fabric of Marvin’s jacket, clinging to it. He nodded.

“Alrigh’. Let’s go. C’mon, one step at a time.”

One step at a time.

They took the bus back, since Marvin wouldn’t let JJ drive. Once home, Marvin tried to cook. He did better than expected. They turned on the television in the living room, with Marvin in his usual chair and JJ lying on the sofa, underneath a blanket. The cat took the opportunity to fall asleep on him. And eventually, JJ found he was drifting off as well.

Maybe…maybe it did matter.

Maybe he should let it matter.

JJ fell asleep, feeling warmer now knowing that there would be others still there when he woke up.


	12. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After nine months, our missing friend returns, and the rest of the group is relieved. But things aren't instantly fixed and all better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning, there are some things that could possibly be upsetting. Mentions of self-harm, though nothing actually happens. Read at your own risk.

It was late at night, and the suburb streets were almost completely empty. There was just a single car driving down the road, a small silver one passing below the yellow streetlights. The woman at the wheel kept glancing out the side window every minute or so, seeing what has changed since she was last in the neighborhood. It probably wasn’t the safest thing to do, but then again, if she hadn’t been looking out the window, she probably wouldn’t have noticed the person on the side of the road at all.

She drove past at first, but then she suddenly hit the breaks. What was that guy doing out here this late at night? That was…a little weird. She looked back at the person—now upon further inspection, she decided it was a man—again. Then she backed up. Illegal, maybe, but she didn’t particularly care. “Hey, there,” she called, rolling down the window by the sidewalk. “Um… How’re you?”

The man stared at her, silent and swaying on his feet. He…didn’t look good. His hair was a ratty mess, held back in a ponytail. He was extremely pale, practically white. As she watched, he folded his thin arms, hugging himself. He was shivering, despite the warm summer night.

“Um…” The woman debated whether or not to go through with her next idea. She’d heard stories about thieves and worse using a vulnerable face to fool people into trusting them. But in the end, she couldn’t take the chance that this was a trick. She’d take the risk. “You need a ride?”

After a moment of continuing to stare at her with wide blue eyes, the man nodded. She unlocked her car doors, leaning across the seat to push the passenger-side door open. The man climbed inside, shutting it behind him. He didn’t look at her, instead staring forward blankly. Now that she was seeing him up close, he…he looked even worse. His cheeks were hollow, shoulders sharp and bony. “So…where to?” The woman asked. “And, uh, are…are you okay?”

The man mumbled something that she couldn’t quite make out.

“…I see.” She looked him over again. Now, she noticed his exposed arms were bruised and battered. And his wrists…she didn’t even want to look at them, they were just…mangled. “Um…” She picked up her phone, searching for a destination on her GPS. Once she’d found the address, she put the phone down and put her car back into gear. “We’re going to the hospital, okay?”

“Mm-hmm…mhh.” The man leaned backwards against the car seat and closed his eyes.

The woman started driving once again. “Umm…what’s your name?”

The man didn’t answer. When she glanced over at him, he wasn’t moving. Normally she would’ve assumed he’d fallen asleep, but with the condition he was in…she dared to speed a little above the limit.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the woman tried to shake the man conscious, but to no avail. She didn’t want to try slapping or shouting, so she awkwardly tried carrying him in both arms.

“Ma’am? Ma’am! You can’t park here!” A woman in scrubs was running towards her from the nearest entrance. “This is for designated vehicles only!”

She spun around, staring down at the shorter woman. “This man needs medical attention,” she said coolly. “I will move my car once I’m sure that he has it. If it takes too long, feel free to tow it.”

The hospital worker was taken aback; the woman’s tone left no room for argument. She pointed back towards the entrance. “Reception is that way, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” She walked as quickly as she dared in that direction, holding the man close to her.

The hospital’s reception was mostly empty, though there were a few people sitting around. All of them watched as the woman ran right up to the check-in desk. “This is an emergency,” she stressed. “You need to get this man in there right now.”

The man sitting at the desk stared up at her, shocked. “Al…alright, ma’am.” He pulled the keyboard of his computer close. Briefly, he looked at the monitor to type, but then after a moment, he looked back at the man, face scrunching in confusion…and something else. “Who is he?”

“I-I don’t know,” the woman admitted. “I found him on the side of the road.”

At that moment, a man in a white coat—a doctor—entered the reception, door swinging closed behind him. He approached the desk. “Thomas, do you—” He started to say, glancing at the woman. And then he stopped. He turned to fully look at the woman, then down at the man she was carrying.

“Hi, Dr. Green,” the receptionist Thomas said. “Sorry, I need to take care of this, she says that this man needs urgent attention.”

“Damn right he does,” Dr. Green said. He grabbed a small radio device from his belt. “Dr. Green to the A&E department, get a trauma team down here. Now!”

The team arrived within five minutes, bringing a gurney with them. They moved quickly, taking the man from the woman and laying him out, checking pulse and breathing as they rushed him back down the hall they came from.

Dr. Green turned to the woman. “Thank you.”

“Oh! Um, you’re welcome.” She was a bit confused by the phrase; it sounded oddly personal. “I couldn’t just leave him there. Can you find out who he is?”

Dr. Green smiled. “I know who he is. He used to work here, nine months ago.”

The woman blinked. “Ah. Well then. Can I ask who he is?”

“His name’s Jackie. Dr. Jackie Parker.”

* * *

The phone was ringing. In fact, it had been ringing for five minutes straight. Rama blinked the sleep out of their eyes and rolled over to grab their cell phone. They squinted at the bright screen, blinding them in the dark room. This was a familiar number. But what was he doing calling them at 12:30 in the morning?

Rama accepted the call, holding the phone to their ear. “Hello, Karter. What is it?” They laid back in bed, listening to the other end. Then their eyes widened, and they sat straight up. “You’re kidding. Karter Green, is this a joke?” They listened for a while more, then threw their blankets away, standing up. “Holy shit, I’m there. Just give me some time, I need to wake up Michelle and drive there. I-I’ll see you once we arrive.”

Over half an hour later, another phone across the city started to ring—or, vibrate, since it was on silent. This call was picked up much quicker than the other.

“Rama, why are you calling me?” Anti asked. “You never call me.”

“Anti!” Rama shouted. “They found him.”

For a moment, Anti couldn’t say anything. He was frozen. He was staring at his computer screen, but he wasn’t seeing it. All that he saw was Jackie—Jackie laughing, Jackie knocking on the door to check on him, Jackie offering to watch Will for the evening, Jackie saying goodbye on the last day he’d seen him. “They did?” His voice came out oddly strangled.

“They did!” Rama also sounded choked up. “Michelle and I are at the hospital now, the one h-he worked—works at. He’s…he’s really here. He’s alive.”

Anti was silent for a long while. “Th-that’s great. Oh my god.” He didn’t know what to say. What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to express the wave of warmth and relief he was drowning in? He hadn’t expected to be feeling this. “H-have you called anyone else?”

“I called Henrik, but he didn’t pick up, so I left him a text,” Rama said. “I’m about to call Jameson and Marvin.”

“Do that right fucking now. I-I gotta—I gotta figure out how to get there.” It was one in the morning, the buses were closed and he couldn’t drive. Should he bring Will? It sounded like Rama had brought Michelle, but she was Jackie’s daughter. If he didn’t bring him, he’d have to find someone to watch him—

Why was he just sitting here?! He had to get there now! Anti pushed his chair back, knocking it over. There was no way he was waiting until morning to see Jackie again.

* * *

After shouting at various hospital personnel for a while, Anti was finally let into the ICU. He made a beeline for the room where Jackie was, easily identifiable by the fact that Rama and Michelle were outside the door. Michelle was sitting on a plastic hospital chair, wearing her Supergirl pajamas and swinging her feet. Rama, meanwhile, was talking to a woman with a short blonde undercut. The woman was dressed neatly, and lacking the usual ID that hospital employees wore. Anti glared at her. He walked right up to the group and asked, “Who the hel—heck is this?”

Rama sighed, but smiled at him. “Hi, Anti. You got here quick.”

“Got a ride with a neighbor, and got her to watch Will, too. Who is this?”

“This is Ms. Davidson, she’s the one who found Jackie,” Rama explained.

Ms. Davidson flashed a smile, holding out a hand. “Charming. Are you Jackie’s brother?”

Anti folded his arms, not taking the woman up on her offered handshake. “I might as well be at this point. How do you know him?”

“Well, I don’t.” Ms. Davidson curled her hand into a fist and withdrew it. “I was driving and I saw him walking down the side of the road and he looked…well, I thought it would be a good idea to get him here soon.”

“You’re American.” Anti noted her accent. “What are you doing here? Where did you find him?”

“The suburbs, southeast side of the city.” Ms. Davidson folded her arms. “And I’m here for my own reasons, that I don’t have to explain to you.”

“And you just happened to be driving through the _suburbs,_ in the _middle_ of the _night?_ Why?” Anti demanded. “Lose your hotel or something?”

“Anti, stop,” Rama suddenly snapped. “Don’t you dare immediately just into this with your sh—stuff. Not right now. She found him, that’s all that matters.”

With that, Anti glanced towards the closed door to the hospital room. His expression softened, just a bit. “Fine. Thanks, Karen.”

“My name is St—”

Anti didn’t bother to listen to Ms. Davidson, quickly walking to the door and closing it behind him and cutting her off.

The room was about average, for what hospital rooms looked like. And Anti was quite familiar with what they looked like, having been in quite a few of them. But he never could’ve imagined that he’d one day see Jackie in the hospital bed. Let alone like this. Jackie was sleeping, or maybe unconscious, looking quite small underneath the white blanket. His hair was spread out across the pillow, a few strands shorter than the rest. They must’ve had to cut the hair elastic out, to get his hair out of the ponytail. There were a few wires and tubes hooked up to Jackie, including one leading to a bag of blood and a mask on his face leading to a supply of oxygen.

Anti pulled one of the hospital chairs closer to the bed, spinning it around before sitting down, so he could rest his arms on the back of the chair. He was silent for a long, long moment. Jackie…he was really back. Hesitantly, Anti reached out and gently picked up one of Jackie’s hands, careful not to touch the bandage wrapped around his wrist. He ran his thumb over the back of it, feeling each place where the bones stood out. “God…” he whispered, his voice breaking on the single syllable. “What did he do to you?”

Jackie didn’t answer, of course. Anti glanced over at the various machines surrounding the bed, noting the steady rate of the vital signs. He sighed. Deeply. For what felt like a long time, he just sat there, holding Jackie’s hand. Until the fingers twitched. The steady breathing hitched a bit, and Jackie’s eyelids fluttered open.

“…H…hey, there,” Anti said quietly. He gently squeezed Jackie’s hand—very carefully, more of a slight applying of pressure than anything else.

Jackie’s breath hitched again. His eyes swiveled over to look at Anti without moving his head. They widened slightly. “A-an…ti…?” Jackie’s voice was hoarse, rough with either disuse or overuse, hard to tell.

Anti smiled, trying to look cheerful. “Yeah. It’s me. You’re in the hospital, it’s alright.”

Jackie tried to squeeze his hand back. But then his eyes narrowed. “…real?” he asked. “P…prove…it.”

“Prove it?” Anti thought about this for a while. How would he go about doing that? “Well…alright, I guess.” He took a deep breath. “You remember how we met, right? It was actually in this same hospital. But, y’know, I was in the bed this time. You were just on your rounds, and you looked inside my room to check on me, because you’re a friendly bastard like that. And I told you to fuck off.” Anti laughed a bit. “Well, actually, I couldn’t talk, but I wrote it down on the whiteboard they gave me. And when you wouldn’t go away, I just kept writing it bigger and underlining it and stuff. And then you did fuck off, but an hour later you showed up again, and you brought a milkshake from the cafeteria ‘cause you said it looked like I needed one. And when I didn’t tell you to fuck off that time, you kinda just…sat there. And talked to me.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “So…yeah. I-I don’t know if that would help, but I mean, I never told anyone but Will that story—without saying I said ‘fuck off,’ of course.”

Throughout most of the talking, Jackie’s eyes had stayed narrowed. It wasn’t until the end that he relaxed. He closed his eyes, and once again tried to squeeze Anti’s hand. “…yeah…” he rasped. 

Anti nodded. He felt his heart in his throat. For a moment, he thought it would leap right out. But then he felt a sudden shock of cold, as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over him. He suddenly cleared his throat, pulling his hand back. “Rama and Michelle are here, too,” he said. “I-I’ll go get them.” And with that, he stood up, walked back to the door and opened it.

Upon hearing that Jackie was awake, Rama burst into the room, holding Michelle by the hand. “Oh…” They breathed, and then hurried to stand next to the bed, leaving the hospital chair for Michelle to sit in. “Hey, Jackieboy.” They smiled, blinking back watery eyes before reaching out to brush a strand of hair away from Jackie’s face. “It…it’s good to see you again.”

Michelle scooted the chair closer. “Hi, Daddy.” She was whispering. “Ren said to be careful ‘cause you’re hurt. So I’m gonna say hi from here instead of hugging.”

Jackie couldn’t say anything, just staring at the two of them. All of a sudden, he began crying, softly.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, Jackieboy,” Rama said. They started to cry too, though they were still smiling. “You know the guys here, you’re in good hands.”

Anti left. He didn’t want to intrude on this warm family moment.

* * *

The others came to see Jackie the next day. Marvin and JJ arrived together, of course. They showed up in the morning, looking as if they’d just woken up. JJ immediately began talking Jackie’s ear off about what had happened while he was gone, and though it was unusual for him to talk that much, the hospital had absolutely refused to let him give Jackie a hug, so he settled for showing relief in a different way. Marvin had actually been quiet this time. At a pause in JJ’s talking, he leaned forward and simply said, “I’m sorry.” The words were heavy, as was his expression; it was as if he knew exactly what that sympathetic phrase, usually said so briefly, without any true knowledge, was directed at. Jackie had started to cry again after hearing it.

Schneep arrived later that afternoon. The moment he stepped into the room, he began babbling explanations about how he’d gone to sleep early the night before and hadn’t seen Rama’s calls, and how when he saw what happened in the morning he’d tried to get off work so he could come see him sooner—eventually he ran out of steam and just collapsed on the hospital chair. Jackie had cried again, full-on sobbing this time, spluttering out phrases about how he’d thought Schneep had died that day he’d been taken. Schneep had used that moment to curse Distorter, then assured Jackie that the poison was entirely out of his system. Eventually, they both fell quiet. Schneep refused to leave for three more hours.

Eventually, the details of the situation were passed from Rama—who had been the one the hospital told, due to being Jackie’s spouse—to the group of friends. In short, Jackie’s condition was not good. The biggest problems were malnutrition and muscle weakness, followed shortly by infections from a few healing wounds, and the scar damage from wounds that had already healed. He’d need to stay in the hospital for a month more at least, and even after he was let out, he’d probably need to continue physical therapy. Everyone was happy to accommodate this. Rama visited the hospital nearly every day, and Schneep was in a close second. JJ would visit and brainstorm with Jackie about his plans for his next show, and Marvin brought a series of books that he would read out loud to Jackie stuck in bed.

The only one who didn’t show up again was Anti.

A week after Jackie being admitted into the hospital, this routine was interrupted while it was still being established. Schneep was visiting, telling Jackie about something that happened while he was at work, when the hospital door opened, and two strangers walked in. “Sorry, is this the room for Mr. Parker?” one asked.

Schneep glanced at Jackie, who nodded. “It is,” Schneep said. “Why? Who are you?”

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but this is a fairly urgent matter,” the other stranger said. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a badge. “My name is Detective Kikelomo, this is my partner, Detective Laurens.”

“I…see.” Schneep tried very hard to remain calm, though his face had immediately lost color. “What is this matter, then?”

“Are you Mr. Parker’s brother, sir?” Detective Laurens asked.

“Well, no—”

“Family, of any kind?”

Schneep chuckled. “Well, actually, no. It is just a coincidence, how we look.”

Detective Kikelomo frowned. “This might be—”

“Please let him stay,” Jackie suddenly said. The adjustable bed was in a sitting position today, but he was still leaning heavily back, still hooked up to an IV and a supply of oxygen.

The detectives looked at each other, then looked back. “Alright, if you insist, Mr. Parker,” Kikelomo said. She cleared her throat. “As we said, we are detectives, we’re with the MPD. We wanted to…talk to you. About a couple things.”

Jackie stared at them. “Like what?”

Kikelomo looked back at Laurens again, but Laurens just waved the floor back to her. She sighed. “Well, I suppose there’s no beating around the bush. Like what happened to you, Mr. Parker.”

“Doctor,” Jackie said.

“I’m…sorry?” Kikelomo looked back at the door, as if expecting someone to be there.

“It’s Dr. Parker. I’m a doctor. I have an MD,” Jackie explained, almost monotonously. 

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Kikelomo hurried to say.

Next to her, Laurens ducked her head. The boys could barely hear her mutter, “How did we miss that?”

“Alright, Dr. Parker.” Kikelomo nodded firmly. “Well, we still need to talk about what happened. You…well, you were missing for nine months. We have a case open on you—or, we did, it was closed four months ago. And now that you’ve returned, it…” She paused, trying to think of a way to say this delicately. “…it’s clear that _something_ happened.”

Jackie, if possible, looked even paler than before. He didn’t say anything.

Laurens jumped in. “Obviously, you don’t have to say anything right now if you don’t want to,” she said. “But…well, our job is to keep people safe, and make sure justice is served. If you can tell us anything at all, that would be really helpful…in accomplishing those goals.”

Jackie stayed quiet. He looked down, and started playing with the remote to adjust the position of the hospital bed.

“I do not think you should be bringing this up right now,” Schneep said, glaring at the detectives.

“Of course, it doesn’t have to be taken care of right now,” Kikelomo backed off. “But, well…as soon as you’re able to talk, Dr. Parker. It’s important that we get this done. The sooner, the better.” She walked forward, and placed a small card on the table next to the bed. “This is my number. Feel free to call whenever.” She and Laurens headed towards the door. “We…we’ll be ready to hear from you, Dr. Parker. We wish you a speedy recovery.”

Once the two detectives were gone, Schneep snorted, and rolled his eyes. “Did they really think any of that official speak was going to work? Ah, well, at least they left you alone.” He looked at Jackie. “Are you okay?”

Jackie looked up at him. He smiled; it looked fragile, like it could break at any moment. “A little…shaken, but yeah. I just…don’t want to talk about…” he coughed. “What were you saying?”

“Are you sure?” Schneep pressed.

“Yeah, Volt. Just…not right now.” He coughed again. “Anyway, keep going, you were in the middle of something?”

Schneep did drop the subject, but he kept the incident in his mind. 

* * *

The hospital’s estimation was right; it was a month before Jackie was allowed to go home. A few days before he scheduled to be released, Rama called all of the group, asking each of them to show up at the house so they could welcome Jackie home. All of them agreed, though Anti had sounded strangely reluctant. Luckily the day was a weekend, so even though school had just started up, Will and Michelle would be there as well.

That day, all the boys were gathered in the living room of Jackie’s house. The kids were there as well, staring out the window. Rama had gone to pick up Jackie from the hospital, and now they were just waiting for them to return.

“This is going to be good, right?” JJ fretted. “I mean, I’m no doctor, but this is a good idea, right?”

“Jems, stop your worrywarting, it’ll do no good,” Marvin said, sitting on the couch. “If the doctors say so, t’en it is so. We jus’ have t’be careful.”

“Yes, exactly,” Schneep nodded firmly. “We should not push him to be okay. These things take time.”

Marvin nodded as well. “Exactly. Espec’ally after…everyt’ing t’at must’ve happened.” He went suddenly very quiet, shadows gathering in his eyes. “But don’ say he can’ do anyt’ing, t’at’s just adding insult to injuries.”

Anti, standing in the corner with his arms folded, didn’t say anything. He hadn’t said much at all, in fact.

Michelle suddenly started jumping up and down. “I see them! I see them!” She gasped. “They’re pulling in!”

Indeed, there was a car pulling into the driveway of the house, parking. JJ and Schneep hurried to look out the window as well. They watched as Rama stepped out of the driver’s-side door, then rounded the car to open the passenger’s side. They reached inside and helped Jackie step out. He stumbled for a moment, falling into Rama’s arms before recovering. Rama leaned over back into the car and grabbed a black cane from inside, handing it to Jackie.

A minute or so later, Rama pulled open the front door. “Home sweet home,” they said cheerfully.

Jackie poked his head inside. “Oh! It…it’s everyone.”

“Surprise, Daddy!” Michelle yelled. She ran up close, but stopped just before giving Jackie a hug, instead choosing to wave both hands furiously. “I made a banner! Do you like it?” The banner in question was several pieces of paper taped together to stretch across the fireplace, with “Welcome back Dad!” written on it in blue block letters that scrunched together at the end.

Jackie laughed. “I love it, sweetie.”

“Hi, Uncle Jackie,” Will said, smiling a bit shyly.

“Hello, Will. Wow, you’ve gotten taller.” He looked around at the others. “I see you’re all here, too.”

“Well, of course!” JJ said. “We couldn’t just not be here for a homecoming. Not the high school party, of course.”

“I’m jus’ glad t’ey let you change back into your clothes instead of keepin’ you in a gown,” Marvin muttered.

“Yeah, me too.” Jackie looked down at his T-shirt and jeans. His spare glasses were on his face, his first pair having been lost that day he disappeared. “I…I miss my hoodie, though.”

“Oh! Then you are going to love this!” Schneep bent over, and picked a pile of red cloth off the nearest chair. Holding it up, he revealed it was a hoodie. “You left it at my apartment that day! I’ve—I held onto it.” He smiled brightly.

Jackie’s eyes started watering; they’d been doing that a lot, lately. “Oh my god…” he whispered. He took a step forward, stumbled, then managed to cross the room. He took the hoodie and collapsed in the nearest chair. All he could do was run the familiar material through his hands. “Oh my god…th-thank you…”

“Is nothing,” Schneep said. “It is your hoodie, after all. I…I just kept it.”

Rama wiped at their eyes. “H-hey, I bought cake yesterday. Anyone want any?”

Everyone agreed that would be wonderful. Rama disappeared back into the kitchen, and reappeared with a stack of paper plates, some plastic forks, and a white cake box. The cake was custom, with a message on top saying “Welcome Home Jackie!” in red frosting.

“Wait, Jackie, can you actually have that?” JJ suddenly asked. “I thought there was a thing about you having solid foods.”

“There _was_ ,” Jackie confirmed. “But I passed that part. Besides, I don’t know if one slice of cake would be a problem.”

“Well, if you insist,” Marvin said, shrugging it off. “By the way, keep t’at close.” He pointed at Jackie’s black cane with his own. “’Tis startin’ to roll away. Y’don’ want t’at to happen.”

“Oh shi—shiitake mushrooms!” Jackie suddenly lunged to grab it. “Thanks, Marvin.”

Marvin grinned. “You’re welcome. It looks like we’re goin’ t’be buddies, huh? I can give you tips.”

“Only for a while,” Jackie said. “Georgia—she’s the physical therapist—said I’ll probably get past it. Thanks, though.”

“Are we going to eat cake or what?” Schneep asked.

“Shoot, I forgot the knife,” Rama cursed. “To cut it. Hang on, one second.” They disappeared back into the kitchen. When they reappeared, they were holding a small kitchen knife.

Jackie paled, shrinking back into his seat.

Luckily, Rama noticed. “Okay, here we go.” They cut the cake quickly. “Everyone come get a slice. Oh, looks like I forgot the spatula, too.” They once again returned to the kitchen, this time taking the knife with them. When they returned, the knife wasn’t there anymore. “Alright—hey stop trying to grab it with your hand, kids!” Rama waved Will and Michelle’s grabbing hands away. “That’s unsanitary.”

“Un-san-it-ary,” Michelle repeated, testing out the new word. Then she suddenly gasped. “Ren, are we going to have cake for my birthday or not because of this?!”

Rama chuckled. “Of course we’re having cake, if you want to. November is still two months away, after all.”

“Yay!” Michelle clapped her hands, waiting patiently this time for her slice of cake.

Everyone soon received a slice of cake, except for… “Dad, do you want any?” Will asked.

Anti, having not moved from his spot in the corner, smiled at Will. “Not right now, kid. Maybe later.”

“Are you sure, Anti?” JJ asked. “We have plenty.”

“I’m sure.” Anti leaned back against the wall, and said nothing more.

For a few moments, everyone talked and chatted about recent events in life. Rama talked about getting their latest story published in a book of short crime fiction stories. This prompted a short discussion about jobs, during which Schneep cursed out his new manager at the coffee shop, and Marvin countered by praising his boss at the bookstore. Will and Michelle answered some questions about how the new term was going before demanding to see some of JJ’s magic tricks. JJ obliged, of course, showing off a few quick conjurings.

About fifteen minutes later, Jackie pushed away his plate with his half-eaten cake. Without saying anything, he grabbed his new cane and pushed to his feet. Of course everyone noticed this, but Jackie just smiled. “Calm down, everyone, I’m just getting some water,” he said.

“Ah, I should’ve brought drinks,” Rama said, snapping their fingers. “I can go get some, if anyone else wants anything.”

“Just give me a moment to get mine,” Jackie said, starting to walk across the room. “Okay?”

“Alright, if you’re sure, Jackieboy.”

Jackie flashed a smile, then disappeared into the kitchen.

Anti narrowed his eyes. He finally moved from his spot, heading towards the hallway that led deeper into the house. “I’m going to the bathroom,” he said, not bothering to listen to anything anyone else said.

He didn’t actually head to the bathroom. Instead, he turned at the last minute, instead disappearing into the kitchen as well when nobody was looking. And when he walked into that room, he was met by the sight of Jackie, leaning against the counter and holding a knife in one hand.

“Fuck!” Anti lunged forward. “Jackie, no!”

“An—! What are you—?!” Jackie gasped, eyes wide.

Anti was right in front of him in seconds. “Give that to me!” He grabbed Jackie’s wrist and tried to pry his fingers away from the knife handle.

“No!” Jackie grabbed the knife with his other hand, now holding it in a two-handed grip. He jabbed his elbow at Anti, hitting a spot just below his eye and causing him to back out. “I-I need to do this!”

“You don’t!” Anti shook his head, and lunged again. “Trust me, you never need to do this!”

In the brief tangle that followed, the two of them ended up falling to the floor. Tears sprang to Jackie’s eyes as he hit his head on the handle of a drawer, and he let them flow. “Anti, shut up!” He suddenly shrieked. His hands were shaking, but he refused to let go of the knife. “Just let me do this! Please!”

“Like hell I’m going to let you do this!” Anti snarled. “Give it here!”

“No!” Jackie kicked at him. The blow landed, but Anti just flinched, and kept reaching for the knife that Jackie was holding as far away from his as possible. “S-stop! Get away! Leave me alone! Leave me alone Dis—” Jackie suddenly cut himself off. His eyes were wide, and suddenly he began breathing much faster.

Anti finally drew back. “Jackie,” he said, shocked. “Jackie, I’m not him.”

The tears were staining Jackie’s face. “I-I kn-know, I kn-know, I know, I know I know I know—” He shook his head, gasping for air. “I know I know I know—”

“Hey, hey, calm down.” Anti held his hands in the air. “Deep breaths, you know? You know the 4-7-8 thing? Can you do that?”

Jackie didn’t react much, staring blankly forward. Slowly, he lowered the knife closer.

“Hey stop!” Anti grabbed Jackie’s wrist again. “Jackie, please, this won’t help you, trust me. Just put it down.”

Jackie let out a sob. “I n-n-need to get rid of it.”

“Look, it seems bad, but this is temporary. There are more things you can do beyond this.” Anti tried to keep his voice reassuring.

“ _No!_ ” Jackie suddenly twisted his wrist, yanking at the same time with surprising force. Anti, startled, let go. “I-it needs to be shorter!”

That threw Anti off. He backed up. He’d been practically pinning Jackie to the cabinet behind him, and now he gave him more room to breathe. “… _What_ needs to be shorter?”

“This!” Jackie reached up and yanked on his hair. Then he yelped, and threw his hand away. “I-I can’t, I can’t, can’t can’t, I-I-I-I—let me cut it, please—”

“Oh my—holy shit, Jackie.” Anti exhaled slowly. “You…you couldn’t just say that from the start? I-I thought you were going to…you couldn’t have just jumped in with that?”

“Please just let me do it,” Jackie pleaded, shaking his head. “I can’t, I can’t, I—” He suddenly slammed his head against the cabinet door. Anti yelped, and pulled him away from it. “D-don’t pull it a-anymore, please,” Jackie sobbed. “Please, Dis—I-I can’t do it, leave it alone—”

“Jackie, listen,” Anti said sternly. “I’m not Distorter. It’s me, Anti. I’m here.”

Jackie looked up at him with wet eyes. “Y-you always make them too nice, that’s what gives it away. Then they t-turn on me. I-It’s not real—!”

“Of course it’s real!” Anti said, shocked. “What do you want me to say? How can I prove to you—drop the knife!” He suddenly grabbed Jackie’s wrist again, which was in the process of moving the knife closer. “Please, I-I don’t want you to hurt yourself. By accident, either.” He listened to the sounds coming from the living room. Nobody seemed alarmed. Should he risk yelling for help and upsetting Jackie further?

Jackie’s breathing was hitching, his eyes wide. “Just let me have this. P-please.”

“Jackie, please put it down,” Anti pleaded. “I-I can’t trust you like this. It’s me. It’s Anti.” He blinked back sudden wetness in his eyes. “I’m…I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you.” His voice cracked. “I just—I got too close.”

For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. Then suddenly, Jackie let go of the knife, letting it clatter to the kitchen floor. He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Anti. His shoulder shook with sobs. Anti stiffened, then hugged him back in return. A single tear escaped.

“I-I just want it gone,” Jackie said through his cries. “I want it g-gone. I-I’ll grow it back when I’m okay again.”

“Of course, of course.” Anti rubbed circles on Jackie’s back. “But you can’t have a knife right now. I thought you were going to…to hurt yourself. On purpose.” He paused. “Jackie, promise me you’ll never do that.”

Jackie shook his head. “I…I wouldn’t do—”

“I know you wouldn’t, but promise me anyway,” Anti insisted. “And remember that you promised.”

Silence for a moment, except for a few more sobs. “I…promise.” 

“That’s great, that’s great,” Anti said reassuringly.

Jackie cried for a bit longer. “Do you…mean that? When you said you’re sorry you d-didn’t see me?”

Anti swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yes. I am so…so sorry, Jackie. I just…” He took a deep breath. “Like I said, I got too close. It—it freaked me out. But fuck that, I’m going to be here now. For you.”

“Th…thank you,” Jackie rasped. His fingers curled into Anti’s jacket, holding tight.

Suddenly, footsteps behind them. And a gasp. Anti turned around to see Rama standing in the kitchen doorway. “…Jackie?” They asked. “Anti?”

Jackie suddenly started crying harder. He reached out, towards Rama, who immediately closed the distance, kneeling on the kitchen floor beside the other two. Jackie pulled them close. “He made me think you were dead…” Jackie whispered. “And Michelle, too. I saw it…”

“I’m right here, Jackieboy,” Rama said gently. “We all are.”

They stayed there for a while more, before Anti and Rama helped Jackie stand up and walk back to the living room. He was still sobbing, red-eyed and tears pouring. The others instantly latched onto it, and soon Jackie was at the center of a large group hug.

“It’s going to be okay.”

“We are here for you when you need us.”

“An’ we’re not goin’ anywhere.”

The gathering came to an end soon after that. Jackie had cried his eyes out, and now he just wanted to go to sleep. So they let him, settling down in his own bed. And they dispersed, going back to their own houses and lives.

And that night, Anti stared out of his apartment window, looking up at the few stars visible. Thinking.


	13. Too Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackie tries to adjust with returning to everyday life, but he might be pushing himself too far in order to be "normal" again. Everything just seems to remind him of being back there...

Jackie woke up to sunlight coming through the window. The curtains were open, letting the sun brighten the room. He’d asked Rama to leave them open all the time, but they’d been a little concerned about people looking through the bedroom windows. The two of them agreed to keep them closed at night but open during the day. Jackie was a little worried about that at first, but it worked out. 

Glancing at the clock, Jackie noted that it was about 11:30 a.m. Well, he couldn’t just lie in bed all day. Yawning, he sat up and stretched, throwing away the covers and standing up. Quickly, he rummaged through the clothes in his drawer, pulling out some new ones. He pulled the curtains mostly-closed, then backed up into the corner to quickly get dressed. That involved taking off his red hoodie, changing clothes, then putting his hoodie back on. He instinctively started to finger-comb his hair before remembering that JJ had cut it for him a week ago. Which he was really grateful for, of course, even if it had taken a while to get used to the feel of short hair.

Taking a deep breath, Jackie grabbed his glasses, putting them on before opening the curtains again and leaving the room. Upon walking out into the hallway, he immediately picked up on the sound of voices. And froze. One of them he recognized as Rama’s, but the other was strange. It sounded female. Jackie shook his head, and took another deep breath. He headed towards the living room, poking his head through the doorway.

Rama was there, chatting with a blonde woman he vaguely recognized. They immediately noticed him, and smiled, waving him over. “Hey, Jackieboy. How’re you?” They gestured to the woman. “You remember Ms. Davidson, right?”

“Um, kind of?” Jackie said quietly. He didn’t know her name, but he sort of remembered her face. “Weren’t you…the one who brought me to the hospital?”

“That was me. And please, just call me Stacy.” Despite being on almost the other side of the room, Stacy held out her hand for a handshake. When Jackie didn’t move, she slowly lowered it. “I always wanted to check up on you after that first day, but I’ve been so busy. When I finally got the time, you’d been checked out. But I got your address from that lovely Dr. Green, and thought I’d pop in today. Your…spouse—” She glanced over at Rama to see if that was the right word to use, and they nodded. “—told me you were still asleep, and, well, we got to chatting. How are you feeling?”

Jackie couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a trap. Distorter’s tricks and illusions had never been this elaborate, but he still couldn’t get rid of the lingering doubt. After a too-long moment of silence, he decided on being nice, but not too enthusiastic. “Still dealing with everything, but better,” he said, trying to put some cheer in his voice. “At least I don’t need to use the cane as much anymore.”

Rama chuckled. “Is Marvin upset to lose a kindred spirit?”

“Ha, maybe a little. Well, I’d still need to use it to stand for too long.” Jackie took a few steps backwards. “Well, I’m…going to get breakfast, now.”

“Oh. Alright, Jackie,” Rama said. “But after you’re done, can I talk to you? Nothing bad, I promise.”

“Uh—sure.” Jackie gave them a tight smile. He backed up until he hit the other wall, then turned and hurried into the kitchen.

Deciding what he wanted was a task all on its own. He didn’t want anything too difficult to make, but he also didn’t want anything too plain to eat. After a moment’s consideration, he ended up taking out the box of Michelle’s favorite cereal—sugar was a strong taste, right?—and pouring it into a bowl. He went to the fridge to get some milk, but as soon as he opened the door and reached inside the cold—

_Cold air, cold concrete, everything cold enough to cause constant shivers. He’d tried to curl up as best as he could, but there was nowhere to hide. The room was stark and bare and dark. How long had it been? Must’ve been a few hours, at least, but something told him it was more than that._

_Eventually, the door opened. He heard it, though there was no shift in the light. He also heard the footsteps. A hand grabbed him by the hair, pulling his head upward. “ ~~Oh no, are you cold? Well, just think, it could be worse! Next time, you could get locked inside the refrigerator. Those things are big, once you’ve removed all the shelves.~~ ” He shook his head, the motion tearing at his hair, muttering words that were muffled by the cloth in his mouth—_

Jackie managed to slam the fridge door closed. He stood with his hands pressed against the door for a while, feeling his heart suddenly pound rapidly in his chest. And he took a deep breath. On second thought, he didn’t need milk.

He sat in the dining room at the table and quickly ate through his cereal. Once done, he could still hear Rama in the living room chatting with the Stacy woman, so he pulled out his phone and got lost in a coloring app for a while.

Eventually, he heard the front door open and close, and then Rama knocked on the doorframe to announce their presence—something they hadn’t always done, but something he appreciated, since he was rather…jumpy lately. “Hey Jackieboy. You good? Did she…freak you out or something?”

Jackie smiled at them. “No, no. I just…wasn’t expecting someone to show up. She seems alright.”

“She’s nice, yeah.” Rama walked over and sat down at the table across from him. “I like her. She, um…might be coming over more. Just thought I’d tell you now.”

He blinked. “Oh?”

“Yeah, she was in the country for some personal business, but now she’s decided to take an extended vacation. I told her we should meet up, and we exchanged phone numbers, so…nothing’s guaranteed, but she _might_ be coming over sometimes.” Rama paused. “Is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Jackie shrugged. “If you like her, I like her. Though I would…um, appreciate it if…if she does come over, if you’d tell me when she’ll arrive. Just so I can…prepare.” He thought about trying to laugh, but it was too much effort. “Has Michelle met her, yet?”

“No, but I’m sure they’ll get along. Stacy says she’s good with kids. Apparently doesn’t have any of her own, but she was an aunt.” Rama leaned back in their chair. “Speaking of Michelle, what are we going to do for her birthday?”

“I dunno, what does she want? Party? Presents, of course.”

Rama laughed. “Yeah, of course. We should talk about what to get her, her birthday’s only a month away.”

Jackie stared at them, then sat up straight. “Oh fuck, her birthday’s only a month away!” He hit his forehead. “God, I totally forgot! Well, no, a-actually, I didn’t…didn’t _forget,_ I just—I haven’t been keeping track of time—well, no, I’ve been trying to, but it just—it just slips away—”

“Jackie, calm down, it’s fine,” Rama said.

He didn’t respond, too busy checking the calendar on his phone. “Shit, it’s the third, it _is_ only a month—and it’s only a week until Anti’s birthday, I have to get him a gift too, but that’s not too hard, but Michelle has a whole party and—”

“Jackie, it’s fine.” Rama reached over and put their hand on top of his. “It’s not your fault. I can do most of the stuff this year, it’s not like I don’t have the free time.” They chuckled a bit.

“But you still have to write, because that’s your job and all, but I—”

“Take it easy, Jackieboy. You’re still…getting better, it’s not good to push yourself.” Rama squeezed his hand. “I’ll be right here if you need anything, and so will your friends.”

Jackie took a deep breath. “Thanks, Ramram. Is…is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

Rama, who’d been giggling a bit at the nickname, suddenly turned serious. “Well, no. You see, this woman called the house phone this morning before Stacy showed up. She said she was some sort of detective.”

“…oh.” Jackie nodded. “What did she say her name was?”

“Um…Kikilolo…no, sorry, Kikelomo. She also said she’d been waiting for you to call her, but since you haven’t yet, she found the home number in the phone book and called to check on you. She, uh…” Rama hesitated. “…wanted to know if you would be up for…coming in. To talk about what happened.”

“Who still uses phone books?” Jackie muttered. “Well, detectives, I guess.” He didn’t acknowledge anything past that.

“Jackie…” Rama sighed. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but…nevermind.”

“No, go ahead. Say what you were going to.”

“I just…think it would be a good idea if you told this detective about it,” Rama said slowly. “So she can help. What if…the same thing happens to someone else?”

Jackie looked down at the surface of the dining room table, tracing the whorls of the wood with his eyes. He took a deep breath. “That’s…a good point. Maybe I’ll…I’ll call her.”

“You sure?” Rama said.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “In fact, I’ll do that right now.”

He picked up his phone and stood up. Swaying for a moment, he turned and went into the living room, sitting down on the sofa. Rama followed him, watching as he dialed a number. He’d stared at the small card the detectives had given him in the hospital for so long, that he had the number memorized by now. Taking another deep breath, he listened to the ringing on the other end.

Three rings later, a voice on the other side picked up. “Hello?”

“H-hi, Detective Kikelomo?” Jackie said. “It—It’s Jackie Parker, remember me?”

“Ah, Dr. Parker, good to hear from you!” Kikelomo’s voice brightened. “I just spoke to your spouse this morning, I assume that’s why you’re calling?”

“Y…yeah, they said you wanted to talk to me? About…everything?” He glanced down, noticing his hand on his lap was shaking slightly.

“Well, if you’re up to it, we were thinking…”

Her voice trailed away. Or rather, Jackie stopped listening. He’d glanced down at his hand for a moment, curling his fingers into a fist to stop the shaking, and in the process his wrist had slipped out from under the sleeve of his hoodie. Twisted, raised scars covered them, running in a line—

_“_ ~~_This is entirely your fault._ ~~ _” Though he still couldn’t describe the voice to save his life, it was far too familiar. Also familiar were the hands pulling and twisting his arms behind his back. He wanted to cry out, to struggle, but his captor was pressing down heavily on his mind, gray fog weighing down every thought and impulse. Though that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when his arms and joints were pushed into a position they shouldn’t be in._

_“_ ~~_I’m not taking this off. For a while, if_ ever _,_~~ _” the voice muttered. One hand held his arms in place, the other tightened the plastic zip-tie around his wrists. “_ ~~_Though if you behave and be nice, I’ll put your arms back into a less…stressful position._ ~~ _” The hands let go, and the fog lifted from his mind. Instantly, his arms jerked, and he cried out, muffled sounds of pain as he tried to settle back into something more comfortable. But it was impossible. His muscles were already shaking from the effort of the unnatural position. The plastic tie was digging into his wrist—as it would continue to, for months, rubbing and eventually cutting into his skin—_

“—would you be up to that, Dr. Parker?” Kikelomo asked.

Jackie blinked furiously, shaking his hand so that the sleeve fell back down over his wrist. “Sorry, can you repeat that?”

“Tomorrow at eight a.m. At the station, if you’re comfortable with it, though I understand if you’re not.”

“No, I-I can be there. Eight in the morning, sharp.”

“Great. Me and Laurens will meet you there. See you tomorrow.” And she hung up.

Jackie dropped his phone—did not put it down, just opened his fingers and let it fall onto the couch cushions. He looked over at Rama, who waited. “So…guess I’ll be…going to the police station tomorrow.”

“At eight, I heard that part.” Rama nodded. “And you mean _we’ll_ be going to the police station. The hospital still hasn’t cleared you for driving, remember?”

“Oh.” He’d almost forgotten about that. “Um, if you’re busy, I can call Jameson and ask him. Or take the train.”

“No, it’s fine, we have to drop Michelle off in the morning anyway, you can just come with me.” Rama smiled and nodded, as if it was settled. “Though if this is going to be, like, an appointment, you should probably get ready.”

“Um…yeah? Of course?” Jackie nodded. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, um…” Rama now looked a bit embarrassed. “I, um, noticed you’ve been wearing your hoodie a lot. And by that, I mean…all the time.”

Jackie folded his arms, feeling the fabric of the hoodie sleeves. “This is my favorite hoodie.”

“I know, but…well, you never wore it to sleep before,” Rama pointed out. “It…it needs to be washed. And while you’re doing that, you can, uh…wash yourself.”

Jackie suddenly laughed. “‘I’m washing me and my clothes,’ you mean?”

Rama couldn’t help but laugh too. “That’s a good one. Ah, rip Vine. But…well, seriously.” Their expression became serious again. “You, uh…haven’t really….I mean, maybe I haven’t seen it, but I haven’t noticed you, uh…” They stiffened, suddenly resolved. “Oh fuck it. Jackie, you haven’t taken a shower or a bath since you got home.”

Jackie had no response to that. For a moment he was frozen, staring at nothing, his shoulders hunched protectively. What was he supposed to say? To _any_ of this? How was he supposed to tell them that he kept wearing the hoodie because he hadn’t had it… _there,_ so if he wore it, he knew he was really back home? Let alone the whole situation with…He laughed nervously. “Are you saying I smell?”

“No. I mean, you do, but you actually smell like our cherry hand soap, nothing bad that I can pick up.” Rama shifted awkwardly. “But, uh…you might _start_ smelling worse if this goes on any longer. By the way, I, uh, noticed we’ve been running out of hand soap real quickly.”

Well that was weird. It certainly wasn’t because he’d been using excessive amounts of their foamy hand soap to try and keep clean. Without water. No water, he didn’t ever want to see—Jackie took a deep breath. “Um…okay. I can…do that later tonight.”

“You sure?” Rama asked skeptically.

“Yeah. Definitely.” Jackie managed to pull off a smile.

“Okay…if you’re sure.” They headed towards the hall. “I’m going to go get some writing done.”

“Oh, I-I’ll come with you.” Jackie scrambled to his feet. “I’ll just—just get my laptop and headphones and—”

“And hang out in the room with me?” Rama raised an eyebrow, chuckling a bit. “The same thing you’ve been doing for the past two weeks?”

“Um…yeah, that, if it’s okay.” Jackie felt his face growing warm. “I won’t say anything or look at what you’re writing.”

“I know you won’t.” Rama gestured for him to follow them. “Well, c’mon.”

Jackie’s expression brightened a bit as he hurried after them.

* * *

Later that evening, well after Rama had picked Michelle up from school and after they’d all had dinner, Jackie found himself standing in the doorway to the bathroom, clutching the sides of the door frame. His eyes were fixed on the bathtub. He must’ve been standing there for five minutes straight, and he knew it was starting to get ridiculous. He took a deep breath, and promised himself he’d step inside. And he did. One step. And then he was frozen again.

Another deep breath. And he took another step.

Another deep breath. And he closed the door behind him.

A few more deep breaths. And he walked over to the side of the bathtub.

He stared down at it, rubbing his arms. He was still wearing his hoodie, but of course, he’d have to take it off, along with everything else, to take a shower or a bath. Right? Maybe if he just left it on—and maybe if he left the shower curtain open while—

No, no, that was ridiculous. He could do it the normal way. After a few more minutes of blank staring, trying to work himself up, he reached forward and turned the handle for the…should it be hot? Or cold? Well he’d turn both on, of course, but which first? Burning, searing hot water, or shocking, freezing cold water?

Another moment passed, another deep breath passed, before his hand quickly darted forward and turned on the cold water with a squeak of the handle. Water spurted out. He slowly reached out and put his hand in the stream—

_—cold—freezing—gasping, thrashing—pouring down from above—he was smiling at him, always smiling, make it stop—gasping, gasping—please stop—please—stop—_

Crying out, Jackie threw himself backwards, and next thing he knew, he was out of the bathroom altogether and running down the hall. He passed the doorway to the office and slowed down, burying his face in his hands. He tried to take deep breaths. Deep breaths, deep, calm, everything’s fine.

“Jackie?” Rama opened the office door. “Is everything alright?”

“Ah—!” Jackie spun around, eyes wide with alarm, but then he smiled shakily. “Yeah, I’m just—I forgot our washing machine was broken.”

“It’s not—”

“So I’m gonna just walk down to the laundromat and—and wash my hoodie there. I-I’ll be right back!” He hurriedly walked down the hallway, not turning around to look at Rama again. He was almost out the door before he remembered he needed money for a laundromat, so he turned back around, grabbed his wallet from the table it was sitting on in the living room, and then left, not noticing how he slammed the door behind him.

* * *

It was actually kind of…nice, to be in the laundromat. It wasn’t too far away from home, and it smelled clean, like detergent. Sure, the tiles of the floor were a little cold, but the music playing over the intercom was pleasant. And there were people there. An attendant at the front counter, and two other customers doing their washing. Jackie actually found himself relaxing a bit. While his hoodie was going through the cycle, he sat on top of the washing machine and checked his messages on his phone.

It looked like none of his friends had messaged him in the past few hours. They were probably busy. He knew Anti liked to start recording at around this time of day, and Schneep was probably at work. And Marvin wasn’t very good at texting at all, he preferred phone calls. Curious, Jackie sent a quick text to JJ. **Hey, what’s up?**

The reply was quick. **Hello Jackie!! Not much rn, but I found a new spell that I could start testing soon :D**

**Oh, cool! What is it?**

**Animal transformation!! Very advanced, but I think I could handle it after some study. Will need someone else to supervise, tho, in case things go wrong. Do you want to come over?**

It felt like Jackie’s heart froze. **To your house? Like, now?**

Well not now, like in a few days. **I just thought you would be interested and would like to get out. But of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to.**

In truth, Jackie hadn’t seen his friends in person in a while. It must’ve been at least a week and a half, probably more. He’d told them all that he needed space, and they were happy to accommodate. But really, he missed seeing them. Maybe he should go visit? **Couldnt Marvin help you?** he texted.

**Well yes, he’s going to. But with this spell, it’s advised to have as many people watching as possible. Again, only if you want to, tho.**

He considered the idea of leaving. Going out into the city didn’t seem so bad. Seeing friends. Going into another house—

_The door was locked, which was about what he expected. The windows were boarded up from the outside, some of them with shattered glass that he didn’t dare step towards, not after what had happened with the broken mirror. He noticed a fireplace, and briefly considered ducking inside, but he was in no shape to climb up a chimney. So he settled on the door. The knob wouldn’t turn when he tried, the wood wouldn’t shudder when he kicked and pounded on it. Tears were streaking down his face. He screamed, asking, pleading for someone passing by on the street to hear or somehow see him, but nobody was coming, and then there was someone behind him—_

Jackie shivered. No, JJ’s town house wasn’t the same thing as… _there._ But… **Maybe another time, bud.**

 **Alright** , JJ replied. **My door is always open, you know.**

 **I know.** Jackie paused, then sent another message. **So anything else new? Maybe with Marvin?** He could keep the conversation going. That wouldn’t be too difficult. Really, he just…wanted to think about anything else.

Eventually he was done washing his hoodie. Once it came out of the dryer, he immediately pulled it on. The warm cloth felt good, and it smelled like the slightly flowery detergent he’d borrowed from one of the other customers. It was nice to wear again, especially on the short walk back home.

But once he _was_ back home…he found himself pausing outside of the doorway. It was almost like…he didn’t want to go in. But that was ridiculous. This was his house. It was a safe place. So…why didn’t he feel safe?

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to open the front door and go inside. This was alright. He could do this.

* * *

The next morning, a loud noise started blaring in his ear. He bolted upright with a shriek, rolling over and falling off the side of the bed. It was a dark room—no no no no, it had all been a lie! He never went home, he was still there—but his hands were free, he had to get out of here while he could! He scrambled to his feet and bolted for the door, slamming against it. He felt for the knob, turning it. The door opened easily, and he fell onto the ground outside, surprised. That wasn’t right…also the hallway was lit up…

“Jackie?”

Jackie looked up, seeing Rama down the hall. They were still in their pajamas, but they’d shoved their red beanie onto their head. And they were looking at him, clearly concerned.

Realizing that he wasn’t where he’d thought he was, Jackie hurried to stand up. He laughed nervously. “Sorry about that. Guess I forgot I set the alarm…wow, it’s dark outside.”

“Well…it’s a little after six am in the fall, so that makes sense.” Rama walked over to him. “You…you doing okay, Jackieboy?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just forgot.” He laughed again.

“Okay.” Rama didn’t look convinced, but they moved on. “I’m guessing you set the alarm so that you could get ready for the thing you have with the detective today?”

“Yeah. I figured two hours would be enough time.” Jackie backed up. “Wow, the alarm is…still going. I’m gonna go turn that off.” He turned around and went back into the bedroom, closing the door on Rama.

He turned on the light switch, illuminating the small bedroom. How could he have mistaken here for _there?_ This was exactly why he’d wanted the curtains open _all_ the time. So he wouldn’t wake up and think he was back in that…other bedroom.He’d gotten into the habit of sleeping well into the daytime, so when he usually woke up, the sunlight would be shining through the glass and lighting up the room, showing that it wasn’t the same place. But now that it was early and dark outside…that was different.

Quickly, Jackie turned off the alarm on his phone and opened the curtains on one of the windows. See? He could see outside. The familiar view of the small backyard was comforting. Sighing, he went back out into the hallway.

Rama had moved into the kitchen, and they were now messing with the stove, making bacon. When they saw Jackie come in, they smiled. “Alright, you look good.”

“I doubt that,” Jackie muttered.

“Well, you’re right, you look like tired shit.”

Jackie gasped, mock-offended. “Rama, I thought you loved me!”

Rama laughed. “I’m just saying it like it is. Unless that was somehow very offensive in English, in which case I plead ignorance.”

Jackie rolled his eyes. “So…you’re making breakfast?”

“Yes,” Rama turned their attention back to the pan. “Do you want to take a shower while I do this? It’ll be a while.”

“Um…” Jackie felt like his feet were rooted to the spot. “Sure, I’ll…I’ll do that.” He took a deep breath, and stepped out of the kitchen.

Okay. He could take a quick shower. Just like…a ten minute shower. That wouldn’t be too bad. Just five minutes. He’ll set a timer on his phone. Maybe for five minutes, actually. 

Much sooner than he would’ve liked, he was back in the bathroom. Once again staring at the bathtub. Okay, starting with cold water hadn’t gone well yesterday. But he didn’t want to start with hot water, either. What if he turned both knobs at the same time? That might work. Jackie took another deep breath, and quickly grabbed both knobs with both hands and turned. Water gushed out of the spout.

Jackie laughed, a sound on the border between triumph and hysteria. Good, step one done. This time, he did not reach in to check the temperature. He’d turned both knobs at once, so that meant it would be fine! It would be fine…if he could just actually step into the tub.

Again, the thought occurred to him that he really, _really_ didn’t want to take off his hoodie. But he would have to. Maybe he could…step inside and _then_ take it off? Could that work?

He took several deep breaths. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, he swung his legs over the side. _Splash._ This was fine. The water was barely an inch deep. It was okay. Never mind the way his heartbeat had skyrocketed when he first felt the water.

Jackie managed to stand up, clutching the edge of the windowsill. He almost knocked over the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion sitting on the sill, but he managed to avoid that. Was the bathtub filling up? Well, of course it was, but would it keep filling up, or was the drain unplugged? He shook himself. It wouldn’t matter. He’d only be five minutes. Perfectly manageable.

Reaching over, he grabbed the shower curtains closed, making a familiar rattling sound. He froze.

_~~“Looks like you need some help, then.”~~ _

“No.” Jackie squeezed his eyes shut. “No, no, no, this is fine, this is different. This is good. I have to do this. It’s fine.”

He took one more deep breath, and opened his eyes, keeping up the stream of reassurances. There was just one more step to get started. And then he’d…have to worry about everything else. Keeping one hand on the windowsill, he bent over and turned one last knob.

Water came pouring out of the shower head above.

_—There was no getting away from this. The inside of the bathtub was slippery, and with his hands tied behind his back, he couldn’t get out. He tried to, of course. Kicking and thrashing sent water flying everywhere. Though it made no difference. He was already soaked through, his teeth chattering from the cold seeping into his bones. The spout was pouring more water into the tub, even though it was already overflowing. How long had he been in here before he’d woken up? It must’ve been a while._

_He tried once more to climb out, but his legs slipped, and his head went under the water. Gasping, he pushed himself upright again, spluttering._

_“ ~~No, no, don’t get up.~~ ” He didn’t know when Distorter had gotten there, but he was here now. He grabbed his hair—it was always the hair, always, always—and twisting the strands between his fingers, shoved his head under again. There was no time at all to get another solid breath in. Under the water again, and his lungs immediately began screaming. He tried to pull away, but the grip was too tight. He had to get out, he had to breathe—  
_

“Dad?” Michelle opened the bathroom door. “Dad, are you okay?”

Jackie shrieked, and tried to spin around. But of course he slipped, falling against the shower curtain and instinctively grabbing it. The pole above was ripped free of its supports, and came tumbling down with Jackie. He collapsed on the edge of the bathtub, the shower rod knocking him on the head.

“Oh my god!” Michelle covered her mouth. “Dad, stay there, I’ll get Ren!” She turned and ran, leaving the door open.

Jackie blinked for a bit, head aching. He looked up. Water from the shower continued to rain down, landing on his face.

_It was hot this time, and he was screaming. Steam was filling the small room, thick enough to choke on. He was on fire, burning, burning, burning. He couldn’t just stay here, he had to get out! Wiggling and thrashing, he probably would’ve found some way to throw himself out of the tub if Distorter hadn’t been there holding him down. One hand on the back of his head, tangled in his hair, the other one on his back, pushing him down. And Distorter was laughing._

_“ ~~You were complaining so much about the other ones, I thought this would be an improvement! See, isn’t it nice that I listened? Friends listen to each other, and try to make each other happy. Aren’t you happy?~~ ”  
_

_He shook his head furiously. Tears were stinging his eyes, running down his face. The zip-tie was cutting into his wrists again, and the hot water was agony on the new cuts. He was saying something, but even he couldn’t figure out what it was, aside from some sort of jumble of words asking for it to stop, promising to do anything if this would just stop—_

“Jackie, Jackie, look at me! Jackie, you have to look at me! Can you stand up?! Can you talk to me?! Say something! C’mon, Jackieboy!”

He felt something hit his face. Blinking, Jackie looked up at Rama’s worried face.

“Okay, good, you’re looking at me.” Relief flooded their features. “Can you say something? Anything?”

Anything? He couldn’t think of anything. Except… “Make it stop,” he mumbled, dazed. “Please. Please, I’ll…I’ll be good, I promise…”

Rama’s eyes widened. They looked over their shoulder. “Why don’t you go eat breakfast, mijita? We’ll be right there.” Tiny footsteps pattered away, and they turned back. “Jackie, what’s wrong? What do you want me to stop?”

He blinked, and glanced up at the water.

_It was warm now, a bearable temperature. But there was something in the water, something grainy. Salt. He knew this meant something terrible, but he couldn’t figure out what, and even if he could, Distorter was pressing down hard on his mind again. He couldn’t move._

_The mirror in the bathroom was broken. Shards littered the counter. He watched as Distorter picked up one of the larger pieces. His ever-present smile widened, and then he was back next to the bathtub. He grabbed his hair, pulling him close. “ ~~This is going to hurt. A lot. But it’s what you get for being like this.~~ ”_

_The shard of broken mirror dug into his cheek. He gasped. Then it sliced into the other. And Distorter let go. He dropped the mirror shard, and instead picked up a plastic bucket, like one a kid would bring to the beach. Smiling wider still, he used the bucket to scoop up some of the salty water. His hand still in Jackie’s hair, he tilted his head back, and poured._

_Jackie screamed._

There was a squeaking sound, and gradually, Jackie realized the water had stopped. Rama appeared before him again, placing a hand on either side of his face. “Okay, it’s off. Is this good? Do you feel better now?”

“Hmmh.” Jackie nodded slowly. His eyes darted around the bathroom. This…this wasn’t the same room. This was…his. Back at home. He wasn’t…

He started to cry.

“Oh…oh, Jackieboy, it’s okay.” Rama pulled him close, not minding how he was soaking wet. They wrapped their arms around him. “It’s okay, you’re safe here. Nothing’s going to hurt you. Jackieboy. Mi corazón. You’re safe here.”

For a long, long moment, Jackie just let himself be held. But after a while of these reassurances, he shook his head. “I…I don’t feel it.”

“You don’t feel what?” Rama asked gently. “Safe?”

“Y-yeah…that.” Jackie squeezed his eyes shut. “I should be, I know, but everything here just reminds me of…there. And him.” He buried his head in Rama’s shirt. “I didn’t want to feel like I was drowning again…”

“I see…” Rama muttered. “Oh. Oh Jackieboy, I’m so sorry. I should’ve known. If I’d known how you felt, I wouldn’t have forced you to—”

“You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you,” Jackie interrupted. “I—I should be normal again by now, because I’m almost better from all the physical stuff, so I should be…better in other ways, too. But I-I still don’t want to grow my hair out again, and I said I would do that when…”

“No, no, Jackieboy.” Rama rubbed circles on his back. “This is going to take a long time to recover from. It was…an…ordeal, what happened to you, and it will not just go away. Especially not if you try to push yourself to go back to some kind of ‘normal.’ Things are not normal right now, and they might not ever be the old normal again. But that is okay. Do you understand?”

Jackie let out a sob. “I’m just…so tired. Of not feeling alright when I’m here.”

“I know, Jackieboy, I know.” Rama paused. “Maybe…you should talk to someone about this? Not those detectives, I think it’s clear now that you’re not ready for that. But a therapist? You know the hospital suggested that, but you never…said if you wanted that.”

“That…that might be a good idea,” Jackie agreed.

“So we’ll try that?”

“Yeah…we can try that.”

Rama pulled away. They smiled at him. “That’s great. Now…can we get out of the bathroom? Or at least the tub?”

“Oh. Yeah, that would be a good idea.” Jackie let Rama pull him up and help him step out of the bathtub. He winced as he saw the broken shower rod and curtain leaning against the wall. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, we can afford a new one,” Rama dismissed. They brushed a few strands of wet hair out of Jackie’s face. “I have to go take Michelle to school, you know. Will you be okay home alone?”

After a moment of serious consideration, Jackie nodded. “I’ll just…hang out in the front room. And look out the window.”

“Alright, but you know you can always go sit outside or something if it bothers you.” Rama leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Jackie’s forehead. “Now let’s get out of here.”

* * *

The next hour or so went by fairly easily. They had breakfast, Jackie changed out of his wet pajamas (though he ran the hoodie through the dryer real quick and put it back on), and Rama took Michelle to school. Jackie did indeed hang out in the front room the whole time, looking out the window and not looking back into the house. Soon, he saw the car pulling back in. Later than he would’ve expected, though. And his eyes widened when he saw someone else step out of the car as well as Rama and follow them inside the house.

“Jackie, are you okay?!” Schneep flung open the front door, immediately crossing the room to sit on the sofa next to Jackie. His eyes looked him over.

“I’m fine, uh, but what are you doing here?” Jackie asked, baffled.

“I thought you might want to see friends,” Rama explained, shutting the front door. “I also dropped by Anti’s, but he didn’t answer. Would’ve gone by the other two, also, but they live in the opposite direction.”

“They said you hit your head in the shower, are you okay?” Schneep repeated.

“Um, I am now.” Jackie had been quick to check out the injury, and aside from a bruise forming, he didn’t think it was too much of a problem.

“Good, good.” Schneep nodded. “They also said, ah…you…were not having a good time. Recently. Would you…like to talk about it?”

Jackie felt tears welling in his eyes again. “I…don’t know.”

“Alright, then we will not talk about it,” Schneep said. “But if you need a professional to talk to, I know a good therapist. His specialty is not in…this area, but I am sure he knows others who are. Or who…do. Whatever is the correct phrase.”

“Is is like, ‘others who has a specialty’?” Rama asked.

“Maybe it is ‘others whose specialty is,’” Schneep said. He nodded. “Yes, that sounds right.”

“English. The most confusing language,” Rama muttered.

“Oh, very true,” Schneep agreed.

Jackie laughed. Once. It faded away quickly as he looked around the room. “I don’t know, Volt, I just…feel like I have to get out of here.”

“Well, you can,” Schneep said. “What is the problem you are having?”

“I…it just…” Jackie waved vaguely at their surroundings. “It’s…a house.”

Rama frowned. “Well, there’s not much we can do about that. Except move.”

“I’m not asking to move, Ram,” Jackie said, tired.

“What if you stayed somewhere else for a while?” Schneep asked.

“Like where?”

“Well…” Schneep shrugged. “If you are worried about the ‘house’ part, then I live in an apartment. And it is very open, nothing like a house with rooms.” He waited for an answer. When Jackie didn’t give one, he hurried to add, “Only if you want to, of course, I am not going to make you—”

“It’s a good idea,” Jackie interrupted. “I’m just…a little worried about Michelle. I’ve been gone for so long…would she be okay with…?”

“Jackieboy,” Rama said. “She’s a strong girl. And smart, in an emotional way. I’m sure we could explain to her, and she’d understand.”

Jackie looked down at his hands, sitting in his lap. For a moment, he caught another glimpse of the mangled scars around his wrists. He quickly pulled his sleeves down over them. And looked up at the two others. “I think…this would be good, then. Only temporarily, of course.”

Rama smiled, and nodded. “Of course. When would you want to go?”

“I don’t…know. Volt, when would you want me to move in?”

“Whenever you are ready,” Schneep said. “We could even do it today, I have nothing going on.”

“Not today.” Jackie shook his head. “What about…tomorrow? In the morning?”

“That sounds good,” Schneep said.

“I’ll make a note of it,” Rama said, walking over to the other two and sitting on Jackie’s other side. “Hey…Jackieboy?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Schneep nodded. “And your friends do, too.”

Jackie blinked. And smiled. It was small, but it was real. “Thanks, guys. I love you too.”

It was nice to know that, whatever changed, however he felt, that would still be there.


	14. Hold the Field

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With several new, and urgent, developments, the group meets together to decide what to do. Afterwards, Jameson tries to make things easier for everyone by going out on his own.

**We have to have a meeting about all this. In person. Tomorrow at five?**

Jameson reread the message again, then glanced at the clock. “They’re all late,” he muttered.

“‘T is only ten minutes, Jems,” Marvin said from his usual chair in the corner of the living room. Looking down at the nearby table, he was concentrating on trying to stack playing cards into some sort of structure—a feat made more difficult while he had Mr. Fluffington asleep on his lap. “They’ll be here.”

“Yeah…you’re right,” JJ nodded, placing his phone down on a nearby table. Still, he couldn’t sit down. Sighing, he picked up a book sitting casually on the table surface, opening it and skimming through the contents. “Do you think I have time to get some practice in before they arrive?”

Marvin looked up, glancing down at the book JJ had picked up, taking in the purple cover edged with gold. He immediately frowned. “If t’at’s the book I think it is, no. No, you don’.”

JJ snapped the slim volume shut. “Well, you sound rather disapproving all of a sudden.”

“The last time you tried t’at sort of spell, you were coughing up feathers for a week,” Marvin reminded him.

“Yes, but if I practice, I’ll be able to _actually_ turn into an animal.” The study of animal transformation was fascinating. It was a complicated magic that you had to be very precise with, lest something go wrong and you get stuck.

“And t’en you’ll get stuck,” Marvin said, placing another two cards on the structure to make a triangle. “And I’ll have t’tell ev’ryone why you’re a bird and feed you little birdseed. And keep Mister from huntin’ you down.”

JJ chuckled. “Mister doesn’t seem like the hunting type. He seems to prefer, you know, sleeping.”

“Hey, you’ve seen him with t’ose little feathered toys on string!” Marvin looked down at the cat on his lap and started petting, running his fingers through Fluffington’s long fur. Soon after, Fluffington opened his eyes and yawned widely. “Oh no, I’ve awoken him! Did I disturb ye, Mister? So sorry.”

Fluffington got to his feet, stretching his back. He turned in place, until his eyes landed on the house of cards Marvin had been making. “Hey, no,” Marvin said warningly. “Don’ you dare.” Of course Fluffington didn’t listen and hopped onto the table, batting at the cards with his front paw. “Mister! No!” Marvin picked up the cat and twisted away. “I trusted you!”

JJ outright laughed at this. “Ah, one of cat’s most primal instincts: smack the thing.”

Marvin sighed, and leaned over to set Fluffington on the ground, where he immediately began wandering. “Now I have t’pick up fifty-four cards.”

“I thought there were only fifty-two cards in a deck.”

“T’is one has two jokers. And a rules card, but t’at’s still in the box.” Marvin began sweeping the fallen cards into a pile. “Some decks have as many as six jokers, which, by the way, were orig’nally made to be the highest level card in the game Euchre.”

“Really?” JJ leaned back against the table. “Never heard of that one. How do you play it?”

Marvin looked up, about to answer, but then the doorbell rang. “Ah. Well, t’at’ll be the others. I’ll explain it t’you later. Can you get t’at?”

“Sure. Be right back.”

Jameson walked over to the front hall, opening the door. The moment the entrance was wide enough, Anti shoved his way inside. “Okay, we’re all here? Good? Let’s go then, where’s Marvin?” he said. Anti looked a little bedraggled. His hair was a mess and his jacket and shirt rumpled, like he’d slept in them. He was holding a green backpack with a scene of cartoon dinosaurs printed on it.

“Living room,” JJ said, gesturing back towards it.

Anti nodded, hurrying over. JJ threw the door open the rest of the way for the other two.

“Sorry we are late,” Schneep said, walking inside. “We had the idea to pick Anti up, but he’d already gotten on the bus, so he got off and we had to find him—it was a whole thing.” Jackie entered behind him silently, the hood of his hoodie pulled up over his head. He seemed a bit pale.

“It’s fine, let’s just get started,” said JJ. The three of them entered the living room. Schneep and Jackie sat down next to each other on the sofa, while Anti remained standing, clutching the small backpack in his hands. JJ walked in, also still standing. He cleared his throat. “Right. So. We all know why we’re here. Why don’t we just…cut to the chase?”

“Do you guys remember those detectives?” Jackie suddenly asked.

“The ones who keep askin’ you for a lead?” Marvin asked, busying his hands with getting all the cards into a single stack.

Jackie nodded. “I mean, they stopped, but yeah. Anyway, you’re not gonna believe what they’re—”

“Oh my god, those two are the ones looking for the kids?!” Anti scowled. “Hmm, yes, I’m sure they’ll be fucking _fantastic_ at that.”

“Well, for police, they seem to actually do their jobs,” Schneep mumbled.

“Not in a situation like this,” Anti said darkly. “You all saw the photos I sent. We _know_ who’s behind this.”

The room fell silent. Jameson resisted the urge to pick up his phone and look at the group chat again. Anti had sent pictures of what happened to his apartment: the way it had been turned upside down and smiles had been scrawled on the walls. That had been…ominous. And more than that, it felt like a taunt.

Schneep cleared his throat. “Well. Michelle and Will disappeared the night before last. There has been nothing since then, not from normal kid-taking types or from the Distorter. We…have no leads,” he finished quietly.

Another silence. “Quite… _grim,_ isn’t t’at?” Marvin asked tentatively.

“Okay, idea,” Anti said. “We talk about the _other_ thing and come back to this.”

Everyone made various noises of agreement. “So, then…” Jameson coughed awkwardly. “Anti. About this weird…eyeball…thing.”

“Way ahead of you,” Anti said, unzipping the backpack. As soon as it was open, a ball of glowing green shot outward. Jackie and JJ made near-identical shrieks of surprise. The floating eyeball hovered in the middle of the room, twirling as it looked around. “Second item of business: this fucking thing!”

“Jesus,” Marvin breathed. “What…what is it?”

“It is clearly an eyeball,” Schneep pointed out.

“No, I mean—” Marvin sighed. “What…is it? Why is it like…t’is? Alive? And big? And glowing?”

“I’ve been doing some research,” Jameson said, picking up his phone and unlocking it. “There are some magician-run websites online that have been helpful. But I can’t find any references to a living, glowing green eye, so it’s not an established magical creature, and therefore probably unique. And if it’s unique, it’s called a ‘being.’” He shrugged. “Simple, broad term that can cover a lot of different things. Basically, it’s magic, and it’s intelligent, but it probably wasn’t ever human at some point.”

“Very helpful,” Anti remarked.

While the others were talking, the eyeball was flying about, seeming to examine the room. At one point, it crept up close to Mr. Fluffington, who was sitting on the floor by the couch. Fluffington leaned forward to sniff the eyeball, and seemed to accept it as not a threat. He did try to smack it, but the eyeball dodged just in time, flying back over to hover near Anti’s head.

JJ lowered his phone. “Well, look, all I’m saying is that we’ve never seen anything like this before. So to the rest of the world, it doesn’t exist.” He laughed bleakly. “Seems we attract that. Never before have we seen a time traveler, a vigilante with shock abilities, and a zombie-like thing that can hypnotize people.” The laughter died into a disappointed sigh. “Which means we…don’t have any outside help with this.”

Jackie kept watching the eye as it moved. “At least this thing seems friendly,” he pointed out.

Anti nodded in agreement. “Yeah. It can, uh, understand what we’re saying. Right, um…Mr. Eye?” The eyeball looked over at Anti and bounced.

“Why are you assuming it’s a guy eye?” Jackie asked.

“I was thinking it was a girl,” Schneep said. “Do not know why.”

“Okay, gender neutral eye,” Anti said. “Mx. Eye. Anyway, we can talk to them. They can’t talk back, though. Or can they?” He reached into the backpack again, and pulled out a folded board.

Marvin leaned over to get a better look at it. “Oh jesus, Anti…” he said. “Is t'at…a ouija board?”

“Yes, it is,” Anti said defensively. “I bought it for a Halloween video last year and immediately shelved it until now. Figured it could work to communicate with our eye friend, cause it has all the letters and shit. What, are you gonna scold me about summoning ghosts?”

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Ouija boards are toys an’ parlor tricks. I jus’ never thought _you_ woul’ be one to buy one.”

“You mock ghost summoning, but we know magic is real,” Schneep argued. “Who is to say ghosts are not?”

“That’s debatable,” JJ said. “I mean, necromancers can summon spirits, but ghosts are a different thing. And also as far as I’m aware, ouija boards are bullshit.”

Anti made a strangled noise. “Jackson! You swore!”

“Yes, I can swear,” JJ said defensively. “It’s not like I”m incapable, I just don’t like to.”

Marvin chuckled. “Yet ouija boards got you worked up enough to allow it.”

“Alright, let’s move on,” Jackie said. “We have a ouija board. How’re we gonna use it?”

Anti slung the backpack over his shoulder and glanced around the living room. He then pulled one of the end tables over towards the center of the room. In the process, he nearly caused the lamp _on_ said table to fall over. Jameson let out an alarmed, strangled noise, and rushed over to catch the lamp. “Why don’t you have a coffee table, Jackson?” Anti muttered. “That would be easy.”

JJ was too relieved that he’d caught the lamp to answer, so Marvin jumped in. “It doesn’ fit wit’ the style of the room,” he said.

“Fuck style, be practical. You need a central table for moments like this.” Anti put the ouija board down on the table surface. Schneep and Jackie scooted closer to get a better look of it, while Marvin leaned forward for the same purpose. JJ sent the rescued table lamp down on the floor and walked over. “Alright. Mx. Eye,” Anti looked over at the eyeball, hovering nearby. “You can use this to spell out words, okay?” The eyeball bounced. “Okay. That’s a yes. Now…what should we ask?”

“Do you have a name?” JJ asked.

The eyeball darted down, hovering over the ouija board and looking down at it. They landed on the YES square.

“Good. So, can you tell us what it is, then?” JJ prompted.

The eye flew back into the air, circling around the board for a moment. Then they darted about, pointing at letters with the end of their retinal nerve. They spelled out S-A-M.

“Sam?” Schneep repeated. “That is not the name I was expecting. Not very…magical-sounding.”

“Nice name, though,” Jackie muttered. “Gender neutral.”

“Sam,” JJ repeated. “Well, Sam. Is there anything you want? With us?”

Sam bounced, and spelled out H-E-L-P.

“Wait, does t’at mean _you_ need help, or you want t’help _us?_ ” Marvin asked.

After a moment’s pause, Sam landed on YES again.

“So…both?” JJ asked.

Again, Sam bounced, landing on YES.

“Well, what do you need help with, then?” Anti asked, a bit impatient. “Cause all you’ve been doing is running around my apartment and sometimes staring at me creepily.”

Sam looked down, almost seeming embarrassed. They shot up and spelled out L-O-S-T.

“You’re lost?” JJ asked. Sam bounced a YES. “Well, I’m not sure how we can help you with that. I suppose we could take you back to where you’re from, but…we’re sort of in the middle of…a situation. Do you know that?” Sam glanced at Anti, then bounced YES again.

“Unless you t'ink you coul’ help us with t'at?” Marvin asked.

Sam considered this, then spelled out I L-O-O-K.

“Okay, the flying eyeball’s offering to help us search,” Anti muttered. “Great. Fantastic. What the fuck are our lives?”

“Anti shut the fuck up,” Jackie suddenly snapped. “Our kids are _missing_ and we’re gonna do every-fucking-thing we can to find them, and if the magic eyeball is offering to help we’re going to take it! Okay?”

Anti stared at Jackie, eyes wide. He took a step back. “I…didn’t mean to say that we _weren’t_ going to,” he said slowly. “I just…it’s weird. I don’t know. Sorry.” He folded his arms around himself, shoving his hands underneath his armpits. “I mean, they can help. They managed to follow me all night, so they’re…capable. Never mind. Sorry.”

Jackie exhaled slowly, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. “No, _I’m_ sorry,” he muttered. “Didn’t mean to yell. I’m just…freaking out.” Schneep scooted closer to him, reaching out as if to put an arm around him, but hesitated. Jackie leaned into his side, and Schneep pulled him closer.

“Alright, alright, so Sam’s offering to help look,” Jameson said, redirecting the conversation. “That’s good. We can look, too.”

“Eh…Jems…” Marvin said slowly. “You wouldn’ happen to have…a crystal ball or somet’ing?”

“What?” JJ looked over at him. “Well, there’s one that I use as a prop sometimes, but it’s in storage at Jewett. Why?”

“I was jus’ t’inkin’…” Marvin leaned back in his chair. “T’at…maybe there woul’ be some way to use t’at to look for the kids? Magically? I mean, isn’ t’at what crystal balls are used for in fairs and carnivals? True, it’s usually for seein’ the future, and I’m pretty sure fortune tellers are scams, but…somet’ing like t’at?”

Jameson blinked. “There _is_ scrying. That’s a form of magic. We wouldn’t necessarily need a crystal ball, just something reflective. We could pour water in a bowl, and—oh my god, why hadn’t I thought of that sooner?” He hit his forehead with his hand.

“This is a whole mess, Jamie, we have all been distracted,” Schneep said. “Is not your fault.”

“Can we do that now?” Anti asked. “We’re all already here, might as well—shit!” Sam had flown up and tried to land on Anti’s shoulder, but at the slightest touch, he’d started and instinctively tried to smack them away. Luckily, they jumped off at the right moment. “Don’t…don’t do that,” Anti said to them. “Not from an angle where I can’t see you.” Sam bounced.

“Yes, we could do that now,” JJ said slowly. “I know one of my books have a scrying spell in it…we’d need something that belongs to one of the kids—”

“Got that,” Anti said shortly, clutching the strap of the small backpack he’d brought Sam in.

“Um…right. Then we’d just need a bowl of water, which we definitely have.” JJ headed towards the living room entrance. “Why don’t I find the book I had the spell in, and you guys all move to the dining room? I’ll meet you there.”

Okay a few minutes later, the group had gathered around the dining room table. JJ was sitting in one of the chairs, scanning the instructions for a scrying spell on page 239 of the spellbook he’d found. On the table in front of him were the backpack and a wide bowl full of water. “So I think I understand,” JJ said. “There’s no incantation, but not all magic needs one.” He looked over his shoulder. “It might be easier if you two would stop hovering.”

Anti and Schneep, leaning over his shoulders, immediately backed away in unison. 

“So how does this work?” Jackie asked, sitting in the chair to JJ’s right. 

“Well if this works, there will be an image in the water that’ll tell us where the kids are,” JJ explained, closing the book. “If it doesn’t…well, there won’t be, I guess.”

“Let’s jus’ hurry it up, t’en,” Marvin said, sitting on JJ’s left.

“Right, right.” Jameson exhaled deeply, placing his hands on either side of the bowl. It would just take a little magic push for this to work…

A pressure built up behind his eyes, and he soon felt his fingertips tingle with magic. The water in the bowl slowly turned blue, the color spreading through the water like dye. Then it started swirling on its own, a miniature whirlpool starting to grow in the ceramic bowl. JJ quickly broke one hand away from the bowl and touched two fingers to the edge of the backpack. Pulling them away, he left a trail of teal—not the usual color of his magic, interesting—in the air. He tapped his fingers on the side of the bowl, and a streak of teal found its way into the whirling blue liquid. That was what the instructions said should be happening. And now, he just had to concentrate on the kids.

At this point, Jameson couldn’t have looked away from the water if he tried. He couldn’t even blink, eyes fixed on the whirling water as it began glowing. The water swirled violently, picking up speed and throwing droplets high, yet it never spilled over the edge of the bowl.

And then suddenly, it all stopped. The water suddenly smoothed over into a glassy surface, the blue glow fading. Jameson saw his reflection, as well as the reflection of the others, leaning close. Then the reflections faded, turning into a vignette on a blue background. The scene shown in the water was blurry, oddly out of focus, and in colorless grayscale. It looked like the image was moving, traveling down a suburban street like someone out for a walk. The image picked up speed, homing in on a certain location. Then it stopped. The scene blurred, streaks of gray smearing. And when it cleared, it was rushing forward. The group watched as the scene flew out of the city and into the empty fields that bordered the town on one side. Then, abruptly, it faded away into gray fog. The water turned to solid ice in less than a second, cracking the rim of the bowl.

Silence filled the room. Jameson squeezed his eyes closed and opened them again several times, getting used to moving his eyes again. “What…was that?” Anti asked, a note of…was that fear in his voice?

“Was t’at what the spell was s’posed to do?” Marvin asked.

JJ turned to the scrying spell in the book again. “Well, not exactly. It says that sometimes if you’re trying to lock down something that’s somehow magically protected, the spell might ‘wander’ about looking for it for a while. And if it can’t find anything, it’s supposed to just…fade away? There’s nothing there that says anything about that…change of direction.”

“Maybe that was the wandering the book meant,” Schneep said, though he didn’t sound entirely convinced.

“Why’d it turn into ice?” Anti took a few steps backward. Sam, previously hovering nearby, flew over to him. “That doesn’t seem like something that’s supposed to happen.”

“No, I don’t think it was,” Jameson muttered.

“Do you t’ink…Distorter is outside the city?” Marvin asked hesitantly. “Maybe he took the kids away.”

“It’s a possibility.” JJ bit his thumbnail, anxiety working at his stomach. “I suppose, with his powers, he might be able to somehow interfere with the scrying. If we really wanted, we could find another magician to try again, but I don’t think anything will change.”

“Okay, so what do we do about it?” Anti asked. “Are we supposed to check out that field outside the city or something?”

Jackie, who’d been unusually quiet the whole time, frowned, and mumbled, “That’s not…”

Everyone looked at him. “Is…is there something you want to say, Jackie?” Schneep prompted gently.

Jackie folded his arms, grabbing the fabric of his hoodie and balling it in his fists. “I just…don’t recognize…that place,” he forced out. “I-I thought I…I would.” He shook his head. “They…they might be somewhere else. Which is…is good, really. It’s good that they’re not…there.”

The air felt heavy. The other four all looked at each other with varying expressions of sympathy. “Right, it’s very good,” Jameson finally said. “So…perhaps if we check this field out, we may find a clue to where they actually are.”

“We might,” Schneep said. “Or it could be a trap.”

“Yeah, if Distorter somehow messed with the spell, I wouldn’t fucking put that past him,” Anti added.

“So what I’m hearin’ is we be more cautious t’an not,” Marvin summarized.

JJ frowned. “Well…I still think we should see if there’s anything there. We don’t _know_ that Distorter was interfering with the scry. Obviously we be careful, but we shouldn’t avoid it altogether.”

Anti rubbed his temples like a headache was beginning to form. “Yeah, I get that, what we just need to do is make a plan for when we go there.”

Jackie laughed dully. “Right yeah. Let’s—can we do that tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?!” Marvin repeated, straightening. “Time is of the essence here! We can’ just sit around—”

“I know we can’t!” Jackie snapped. “I’m not saying we do! I just—we’ve done a lot today—”

“And we shoul’ keep goin’ while we’re here!” Marvin insisted. “Might as well hit him tonight! If we’re lucky we can—”

“If we’re lucky,” Jackie repeated, leaning across the table. “We might not be lucky at all! This could be a trap, remember? We—we’re not losing anyone!”

“If we don’t hurry, who knows what’ll happen?!” Marvin emphasized, leaning forward as well. “They’re _kids!_ Are we leavin’ kids t’ere?!”

“No, we are _not_ doing that!” Jackie slammed his palms on the table surface. “I don’t _want_ to wait, but I don’t _want_ any of you to have to—any of you to be taken, either! It’s a risk, but we can’t afford it if anyone else ends up like—like that! With him!”

“Oh, well, you’re a bit feckin’ late if ye don’ want anyone else to be affected by him!” Marvin drawled. “By about a few years—or a few decades, depending on what actually happened t’ere, I don’ remember! They are _children._ Will we let them alone in t’is situation?!”

“That’ is _not_ what we’re doing!” Jackie shot to his feet. “What, you can’t wait a day?! So impatient! We need a _plan,_ Marvin! Otherwise everyone else will end up like us! Do you want that?!”

“I don’t want children to end up like t’at, either!” Marvin shouted, standing up and putting his face into Jackie’s.

“None of us here do! But we can’t just go rushing in!”

“We can’ wait, either!”

“Will the two of you just _shut up?!_ ” Anti yelled. “Fucking god! You’re wasting time fighting when we _could_ be deciding what to do to save the _fucking children in the hands of a nightmare!_ ”

Marvin and Jackie glanced over at him, then back at each other. In almost comical unison, they both sat down.

Schneep sighed. “Well, we may need time to break just so you two can calm down. Anyway, we will take a vote. Who wants to go investigate this field today? Raise your hand.” Marvin’s hand shot in the air, and Jameson’s followed, more slowly. “Who wants to meet up tomorrow to plan and investigate then?” Jackie, Anti, and Schneep raised their hands. “Then it is decided,” Schneep said.

Marvin cried out, frustration evident. He stood up, violently pushing his chair back, and stormed out of the room.

Jackie looked after him. “I didn’t…mean to make him…”

“He’ll be fine,” Jameson said quietly. “I’ll talk to him.”

The remaining four quickly decided to meet again early tomorrow. Then Anti, Schneep, and Jackie left, with Sam following Anti. Jameson waved goodbye to them at the door. The minute they were out of sight, he closed the door and pressed his forehead against it. That…hadn’t ended well. He’d never seen Marvin and Jackie fight like that. Sure, they argued, but never about anything _serious._ Never did it devolve into shouting at each other.

Speaking of which…JJ took a deep breath, and turned around, heading down the hall towards Marvin’s room. The door was closed. If he listened carefully, he could hear muffled sounds from inside. He knocked. “Marvin? Are you alright? The others are gone.” There was no answer. He knocked again. “Marvin? Are you okay?” When there was still no answer, he said, “Marvin, I’m coming inside, alright?” and pushed the door open.

Marvin was lying on the bed, curled up with his back to the door and his face buried in his pillow. Now with the door open, Jameson realized the muffled sounds he’d been hearing were the sounds of sobs. “Are you okay?” he asked gently. “Do you need anything?”

After a moment, Marvin looked over his shoulder to stare at him with red-rimmed eyes. “No, don’ need anyt’ing,” he mumbled.

Jameson nodded slowly. “Do you…want to talk about it?”

Marvin paused. “It’s…I just don’ want…” He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a handkerchief to wipe his eyes. “They’re jus’ kids, Jems. A-and after ev’ry…all of…ev’ryt’ing that I…” A shudder wracked his body. “I want them t’be alright, but…they might…”

Jameson waited for more, but soon realized it wouldn’t come. “They will be alright, Marvin,” he reassured. “We’ll be looking out for them. I’m sure one day won’t make too much of a difference.” But, though he said it confidently, he felt doubt in his heart. “Do you want me to stay, or…?”

Marvin shook his head silently.

“Alright, then. Just call me if you need anything.” He started to close the door, but then looked down as something brushed past his leg. “Oh, looks like you have a visitor.”

Mr. Fluffington walked inside the room, stopping next to the bed and looking up at Marvin. After a moment, he hopped up onto the surface and began sniffing at Marvin’s face. Marvin made a small laugh, and reached over to pet the cat. “Y’can leave the door open, Jems,” he said.

“Got it.” Jameson backed away, eventually turning and heading down the hall.

This whole thing was…terrible. Not only for Will and Michelle’s sakes, though that was awful enough on its own. But the group was falling apart because of it. Jameson couldn’t let that happen. He’d always fought so hard to keep them together, to keep everyone alright. Perhaps…perhaps there was something he could do. Something that would make everyone happy.

* * *

Later that night, at midnight exactly, Jameson left the house, driving out of the city and following directions he’d looked up online. He’d do a quick scout of the location they’d seen in the scrying spell. It wouldn’t take too long; he just wanted to see if he could detect anything magical. Accordingly, he’d dressed in his stage outfit of a cape and his mask—not necessarily required for magic, but it got him in the right head space.

Empty fields bordered the town on the south side. There wasn’t really a distinct end to the city limits, just the suburbs in the south gradually spreading out, then stopping. The paved roads came to an abrupt end, but at different spots for each road. JJ drove as far as he could on the street, then parked his car and got out, staring out at the empty planes of rough, knee-high grass. It looked kind of…foreboding, in the dark. But he’d had to leave at night, so that Marvin wouldn’t know he was going to check it out. As much as Marvin had pushed for them going to the location immediately, JJ knew he’d be upset that he was going out on his own, without any backup.

Uneasy dread curled up in his stomach. Jameson hesitated. If this _was_ a trap, it wouldn’t really be a good idea to be here…alone…without having told anyone where he’d gone. But no, he’d planned this out. He’d read up on several defensive spells in case he’d forgotten any, and even tried out a light illusion spell that would hide him from view. Besides, he didn’t want any of the others to worry. They were upset enough recently, the events of the last few days taking a toll on all of them. He could do this on his own—in fact, he had to.

Taking a deep breath, Jameson forced himself to step off the familiar asphalt of the dead-end street and into the tall grass. Okay, the scrying spell had gone fairly far into the fields before failing, so he had some way to go. And since there wasn’t a lot of cover out here, might as well try that illusion spell. “Kui me malí ab scomumbrae,” he whispered, hoping he’d remembered the incantation correctly. There was a gentle blue glow, and then he felt suddenly a bit chilly—more so than usual for a November night. When he looked down, he couldn’t see his own body. Seemed to have worked.

He kept walking. There wasn’t much to identify one spot in the fields from any other spot, except for turning around and seeing how far away the city lights were. Jameson tried to remember how far away the buildings had appeared in the scrying spell.

It felt like he’d been walking for a while when he decided to try and run a quick detection spell. If there was anything magical out here, he should be able to find it with that. No incantation for this one, just concentration and listening to your inner voice. And his inner voice said that there _was_ something…something further away from the city.

Jameson glanced back over his shoulder. The city lights really were starting to fade into the background. He could make out the shapes of buildings, but he wouldn’t be able to walk back to them—or at least not quickly. For a moment, he thought that maybe he should turn around.

And then he heard…a voice.

Jameson stiffened, and turned back to look over the empty field. He could hardly see anything now, hardly any light from the city stretching far enough to light up the empty expanse of grass. But that voice…it sounded familiar. Was it crying?

Wrapping his cape around himself, he headed towards the noise. It sounded like it was getting closer, but he couldn’t see what was making it. He didn’t want to risk saying anything in case the wrong party overheard him. Maybe…if he cast a light, the illusion spell would conceal it?

Might as well try. He held up his hand, and a brief flash of blue light lit up the area. The sound of crying stopped. “H-hello?” The voice of a little girl called out. A familiar little girl, in fact.

Jameson’s heart stopped. So, Michelle and Will _were_ out here. Or at least Michelle was. But…perhaps this was part of the trap they’d been worried about earlier? JJ silently cast another detection spell. There _was_ magic here, much closer. It didn’t feel hostile…which was strange enough in itself.

“Who’s there?” Michelle’s voice asked, fear ringing in each word. “I-I’m—my name is Michelle Parker-Diaz, I…I came out here with my friend…I-I don’t know where he is…hello? Is anyone there?”

Jameson slowly walked closer. Unfortunately he’d neglected to pull up more light, and in the darkness, he tripped over something in the grass. “Oof—!” He stumbled, but managed to catch himself.

“Hello?!” Michelle’s voice cried. “I know you’re there! Can you help me find my friend? Th-there’s a monster out here, there’s…” She trailed off. “I-it’s close by…”

Something rustled in the grass nearby.

Jameson cast his eyes about again. By now, it was almost pitch black, only the slightest hint of light coming from the moon and stars above. He bit back a curse, then cast another flash of blue light.

The rustling increased. Michelle screamed. “It’s here! Help! Please, someone help!”

All caution was immediately abandoned. Jameson dropped the illusion spell and cast a more substantial light spell, crystallized bits of blue magic dancing around his fingers. The field lit up in a circle around him. He could see the grass rustling, in the same direction Michelle was screaming from. But it sounded like she was getting farther. “Michelle?!” He called. “Don’t worry, I’m coming!” He ran after the screams.

“Help! Please! It’s coming, _it’s coming!_ ” 

“Don’t worry! I’m—” Not looking where he was going, his shoe slammed into something hidden in the grass. There was no time to stop the fall. Jameson merely braced himself as he landed hard on the ground.

“No! _No!_ ” Michelle screamed again, the sound piercing Jameson’s ears.

And then the scream changed.

Into…laughter.

“You always seemed clever.” Michelle’s voice began warping, lowering and shifting into something that definitely wasn’t her, but wasn’t definitely anything else. “I guess the heart ove ~~rrides the brain in your case, huh?~~ ”

“Shit,” Jameson whispered, climbing to his feet. So it had been a trap. And out on his own, he didn’t have anyone to stop him from falling for it. Well, only one thing to do now. He turned around and ran back towards the distant city lights.

“ ~~Going so soon? Aw, that sucks. It was just starting to get fun.~~ ”

The city buildings in the distance shimmered like a heat wave rising off the highway. Then they shifted position, now to Jameson’s right. Then to his left. Then in front again. Then behind. Jameson stopped running, turning in circles trying to catch up with where the city was. He raised his hand higher, the crystal blue lights illuminating a greater area. Though it helped him see, it didn’t stop the location of the city from shifting. And it was then that he remembered Distorter couldn’t actually change his surroundings. It was all an illusion. “What was the point of this?” He called out.

“ ~~What was the point of trying to find me?~~ ” Distorter snapped back. His voice seemed to be coming from all over, making it difficult to pin down his location behind the illusion. “ ~~You didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you? Well, maybe you did, considering you waltzed right out of the city. All on your lonesome, too. Nobody else volunteered to come? Wow. Bad parenting, sending someone else to get your kids.~~ ”

“Hey, you shut up,” Jameson snapped. “What do you know about parenting?” After a moment’s hesitation, he started walking in a direction that he thought was the way he’d come. The distant city lights were blurring and wavering, and occasionally disappearing altogether.

“ ~~Aw, I bet they’re _worried,_~~ ” Distorter said. “ ~~Worried about their little bitty babies. Well, don’t. I know enough to take care of them. They’ll be better off here, anyway, than with a violent asshole and a man who can’t even live in the same house as his daughter.~~ ”

“That second one is your fault, don’t deny it,” Jameson said. “And that first one is a wild exaggeration.”

Distorter laughed. “ ~~Spoken with the confidence of a man who’s never seen another’s thoughts! Oh by the way, you’re heading in the complete opposite direction.~~ ”

Jameson rolled his eyes. “And why should I believe you in that matter?” He kept walking solidly in the direction he was going. “You lured me out here, you pretended to be Michelle, you are not above misleading me.”

A pause. “ ~~I lured _you_ out here?~~” Distorter repeated. “ ~~So…then you _are_ on your own. No one else hiding in that invisibility spell? It’s just you?~~”

Icy fear suddenly splashed through Jameson’s veins. “Would I tell you if there was?” He asked, hiding the tremble in his voice. “Let’s just admit we both have reason to lie to the other and call it a day. Or, uh, night. You do realize we outnumber you, yes? It doesn’t matter how powerful you are, we can overwhelm you all together. So are you willing to risk that?”

“ ~~Wow, now you’re just rambling. Nervous, huh?~~ ” Distorter’s voice faded away.

Something flickered in the corner of Jameson’s vision. He stopped walking and spun around. His eyes darted around the vast, empty surroundings, all dark beyond his little bubble of light. Perhaps it was time to put those defensive spells to use. He muttered an incantation under his breath, and the blue light weaving around his fingers flared, shooting outward in a circle.

Distorter laughed. “ ~~You talk too much~~.”

Jameson spun back around, the blue light twirling away from his fingers and fading in surprise. There was a shuffling movement in the darkness.

And without any warning, Distorter was right in front of him, grinning and bleeding and tackling him to the ground. Jameson cried out in surprise, mind scrambling for a spell to help. But then something red splashed, and Jameson felt a sharp, sudden pain in his neck. He gasped, and choked as something tasting of copper ran down his throat.

Another laugh, and Distorter backed away, disappearing into the darkness. Jameson’s hands immediately flew for his neck, wincing as they made contact with a wound that instantly drenched his fingers in warm liquid. He pressed against it, choking more as the movement put pressure on his windpipe.

“ ~~Wow, that’s a lot of blood.~~ ” Distorter’s voice was right in Jameson’s ear. He jumped. Something grabbed his hair and wrenched his head backwards. “ ~~Yikes. I think you’re actually going to die, magic man. Way out of the city, nobody nearby to rush to your aid…yeah, you’re going to die tonight.~~ ” Distorter sounded delighted by that fact. “ ~~All these spells and enchantments you can do, and you’re going to die of blood loss. Not a very magical end. Are you starting to feel dizzy? Maybe your vision is going all out of whack. Eventually you’re going to pass out, though, so at least it’ll be like dying in your sleep. And hey, at least the pain will stop. God, what’ll Marvin think? I bet he’ll be devastated. Oh, well. I’ll give him your regards.~~ ”

Jameson tried to push Distorter away, but it was so dark, he couldn’t see where he was. Not the priority right now. He gathered his cape into a ball and pressed it against his neck. It was instantly soaked. He had to at least try to get away, didn’t he? It couldn’t…couldn’t end like this.

Was it always this cold? It didn’t matter. He had to stand up. But when he tried, he just stumbled and fell again. Okay, crawling, then. Pushing past the strands of tall grass and just…just heading forward. Just keep going. Keep…

The field was lit up by a golden yellow light.

“What the fuck?!” A female voice shouted.

Jameson caught movement out of the corner of his eye. And also movement right in front of him. The light was coming closer. Was this…?

“Oh my god, what happened here?! That thing—what—? You’re hurt! Wait a minute, don’t I know you?”

Jameson looked up at the light, and then his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

* * *

He didn’t expect to open his eyes again. Or at least, not to something so ordinary as this. It looked almost like a hospital, with the rows of beds and white walls. But there was something more…casual about it. There was wooden paneling on the bottom third of the walls, the beds looking more like they’d belong in a bedroom than a hospital. The weird room was empty, except for him…and a red-headed woman sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed.

The woman looked up. “Oh good, you’re awake. How’re you feeling?”

Jameson frowned. His throat…really hurt. He tried to say something about that, but ended up just making a hoarse wheezing sound and coughing.

The woman winced. “I meant with the whiteboard.” She pointed to Jameson’s side. If he’d tilted his head just a little bit, he’d have seen a nightstand next to the bed, with a whiteboard and dry erase marker on it. But then again, tilting his head hurt.

JJ reached over and grabbed the board, scribbling out _My throat hurts._

“Yeah…I expect it would.” The woman inhaled sharply. “There was some…serious damage there. That thing managed to carve deep enough to do damage to your vocal chords. Healers say you should be able to talk again…mostly. With some, um…it’s not good, okay?”

JJ blinked. This woman looked familiar. _Who are you?_ he asked. _How did I get here?_

“Do you have ninety minutes?” The woman asked, then chuckled. “Sorry. Bad reference. Anyway, we’ve met before, a couple months ago. Your name’s Jameson Jackson, and mine is Aoife Kelley.”

That name did ring a bell. JJ cast his mind back, and then it hit him. _You’re that ABIM magician who didn’t help us,_ he wrote, glaring at her.

“Look, I’m really sorry about that,” Aoife said sincerely. “But the regulations exist for a reason. And, uh…if what I saw last night was real, I am so, _so_ sorry for not stepping in. That thing was…haunting.”

 _Wait, “last night”?_ JJ wrote. _I have to get home! The others will be worried!_ He sat up straight, throwing away the blankets.

“Whoa, hey, be careful!” Aoife stood up and pushed him back down as he started to stand up. “You lost a lot of blood. The ABIM healers hooked you up with a replenishing potion, but you’re still not fully up and ready.”

JJ glared at her. _I didn’t tell my friends where I was going. I have to let them know I’m okay._

“You didn’t…? Well, don’t you have a phone? Text them or something.” Aoife glanced at a clock on the wall. “It’s about eight. I can drive you to your house.” She paused. “And, uh…if you need help with this…whole…situation you’re in, I’m ready to help.”

_You didn’t seem so ready to help when I asked for it a few months ago._

“I was! I just couldn’t.” Aoife sighed. “Look, my magical specialty is divination. Last night, I was woken up in the middle of the night, and just…strongly felt I had to go to that field. And when I saw you there, and that thing, I started wondering…maybe our fates are intertwined.”

JJ blinked. _If you’re flirting with me, I must inform you that I am very gay._

Aoife laughed. “No, not like that! I meant just like—like I’m meant to help you.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular piece of wood, which she then handed to Jameson. “I think I’ve given you this before, but this is my cell phone number. If you need help, call or text me, okay?”

JJ sighed. _Yes. Alright. I appreciate the offer._ He paused, then added, _Now can you please take me home?_

* * *

Jameson entered the house, slamming the door behind him. Immediately, there was a “Jems?!” from down the hall, followed by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. JJ looked over, and was hit by a sudden hug from a familiar figure. “What happened?!” Marvin asked. “Are you—whoa!” He started listing to the side, and Jameson hurried to help him back to a stable position. “Thanks,” Marvin breathed. “Now. Where have ye been?! When d’you leave?! What happened to your neck?! Are y’alright?”

JJ patiently waited for the onslaught of questions to fade, then he grabbed the whiteboard and marker Aoife had generously given to him, and wrote out, _I made a very bad decision._

“Okay, what was t’at?”

_I went to the field we saw in the scrying spell._

“On your own?!” Marvin grabbed Jameson by the shoulders. “What were ye t’inkin’?! I know I was all for actin’ quickly, but together! Not by yourself in the night!”

Jameson looked down at the floor, then up again. _I just thought this would be the best way,_ he explained.

Marvin blinked. “Why?!”

It took a while to write out that response. _Well, we do need to get the kids back, sooner better than later. But I didn’t want to trouble you or Jackie because you were upset after that fight. And Anti seemed a bit overwhelmed with that Sam eyeball and all the stress. And Henrik has his own plate full._

“Jems,” Marvin said, sounding absolutely stunned. “Okay, yes, t’is is all correct. But did ye really jus’—just t’row yourself into danger so as to not make anyone _upset?!_ ”

Jameson paused. _Well it sounds bad when you put it like that._

“Oh my god, Jems.” Marvin buried his face in his hand. “Ye can’ look out for ev’ryone all the time and not yourself. You’ll get hurt.”

 _Figured that one out,_ Jameson pointed out, resisting the urge to touch the bandages wrapping around his throat.

“I mean you’ll get hurt in your head,” Marvin said. “It’ll run you dry. Look, I didn’ call any of the others yet, but we were s’posed to meet up later t’is mornin’, right? So we still meet up, we tell ev’ryone what happened, and then—then!—you are goin’ to rest up and not worry about anyone other t’an yourself. Alright?”

 _Well…I’ll probably need that rest, anyway,_ JJ wrote slowly. He hesitated. _Marvin. There might have been some…permanent damage. It’s a long story, but…if I’m lucky, it’ll be difficult to speak. If I’m unlucky…_ He couldn’t bear to finish writing that sentence.

Marvin nodded. “Well. We’ll deal wit’ t’at when it comes. I’m sure we can tackle it. And for once, _I_ will be the one making sure _you_ are alright. And you are goin’ t’like it!”

Jameson let out a wheezing laugh that he cut off not long after it began. _Thanks._

“You’re welcome. Now. Go lie down, I’ll call the others.”

Jameson headed into the living room and lied down on the sofa. Mr. Fluffington, previously towing with a bit of string on the floor, walked on over to see what the fuss was about, and hopped onto Jameson’s stomach. JJ smiled a bit. And despite passing out for about eight hours last night, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	15. Things Not There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the chaos of the kids going missing, Distorter decides to cause even more trouble for everyone by messing with Schneep.

It seemed absurd that, with everything going the way it was, Schneep still had to go to work. But there was nothing he could do about it, so he got up in the morning, worked seven hours at the coffee shop Latte Lake, then came home around one o’clock.

“It’s me, I’m home,” he called, opening the front door of the apartment and strolling in.

Jackie was lounging on the sofa, scrolling mindlessly through something on his phone. He looked up. “Hey, Volt,” he said. “How were things?”

Schneep huffed. “Same as ever. How are things here?”

“Ehhhh…” Jackie looked back down at the phone screen. He was a bit…listless lately, but that was to be understood, what with things being how they were. “Are you going out again tonight?”

“Yes, of course,” Schneep says. He’d been going out every night for the past few days, ever since the kids disappeared. Gone out in costume, searching. Nothing, so far. Though he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Distorter was difficult to find. In fact, they didn’t have any clue where he stayed or hid at all. So maybe the search was impossible, but damn if he was going to just let it happen.

“Hmm…” Jackie put his phone down and buried his face in one of the throw pillows.

“Do you need anything?” Schneep asked tentatively.

“No, I’m just tired.” Jackie’s voice was muffled. “Haven’t been sleeping well. Talking with Rama through FaceTime.”

“Ah. I see.” Schneep wondered if he would be able to hear that, if he was ever home before Jackie fell asleep. After all, his ‘bedroom’ only had a single wall separating it from the rest of the studio apartment. Any noise Jackie made from where he was sleeping on the couch was pretty audible. “Well anyways.” He draped his jacket across the back of the nearest chair and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Just as he stepped inside, the alarm on his phone went off. “Ja, ja,” he muttered, switching it off. He knew what that meant. The bathroom was a bit smaller than the average one, but it was pretty good-sized for an apartment. He leaned over the counter and opened the medicine cabinet behind the mirror, taking out a small bottle. Idly, he opened it, only to freeze. Since when was it empty? He could have sworn he was good for the next two weeks.

He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number from his contacts. Bouncing in place, he listened to it ring on the other side until it was picked up. “Hello, Dr. Akela speaking.”

“Hello Malcolm?” Schneep said. “It is Henrik. I was just calling to check on if you could, ahhh, send me my next prescription now?”

“Now? Is something wrong?” Malcolm sounded puzzled.

“I just went to take it for today and my medication bottle is empty,” Schneep explained.

“What? Already? Hang on a second, I need to check something.” There was the sound of fabric rustling and keyboard tapping on the other line. Schneep waited patiently. After a while, Malcolm hummed. “Yeah, that should have lasted you a month. It’s only been two weeks.”

“That’s what I was thinking!” Schneep sighed in relief. He’d been worried for a moment there that he’d lost track of time. “I do not know why it’s empty, I’ve only taken one per day.”

“You’re sure it’s only one?” Malcolm asked. “And you haven’t lost any?”

“No, no I am sure.”

“That’s, uh…this is going to sound unprofessional, but if that’s really the case, then that’s weird,” Malcolm said. “I haven’t gotten in your next prescription yet, that was gonna happen on Friday.”

“A week from now?!” Schneep half-shouted.

“Hey, I know it’s frustrating, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” Malcolm paused. “Maybe ask your new roommate if he knows anything about what happened to it.”

Schneep bit back a laugh. Yeah, he was going to ask Jackie about this. Jackie didn’t even know he took medication, let alone what it was for. Still, he said, “Yes, sure.”

“Great. Can you swing by the office on Friday or should I mail it directly to you?”

“I can stop by. Goodbye, Malcolm.”

“See you on Friday.”

Schneep hung up the call, thinking. He really could’ve sworn he still had two weeks’ worth of medication left. What could’ve happened? He glanced around uneasily. Could someone have…done something? Who? Sure, Jackie had the means, but not the motive. He had a niggling feeling that a certain black-eyed smiling creature was behind it, but there was no proof…still, if anyone would want to tamper with this, it was him.

He tried to push the what-ifs away for now and concentrate on the facts. Friday was six days away. Symptoms would certainly be showing up by then, or at least growing into larger problems than just inconveniences. But they wouldn’t be unmanageable. Probably not. He could survive six days.

So he took a deep breath, and headed out of the bathroom.

“Hey have you talked to JJ recently?” Jackie asked.

“Huh?” Schneep startled. “Ah…not since we met up the day before last. Should I talk with him?”

“Maybe,” Jackie said. “I think he needs some cheering up. I would in that situation, you know?”

He nodded slowly. Yes of course. If he’d been injured in a trap by Distorter, unsure if he would ever be able to speak again, he would be feeling a little down, at the very least. Maybe he would text him. But at the same time, he thought that if he did, he’d just dump all his worries about the missing medication on him. After all, JJ and Marvin were the only people he’d told about his condition. And neither of them needed any more pressure right now. So maybe tomorrow, then, when things had settled down just a bit.

* * *

Schneep had always preferred night to day. Which was partly why he usually went out on patrol after dark. It was also partly because he had work during the day, of course. Had to make time whenever he could.

He sat on the edge of a fire escape, staring up at the sky. Only a few stars could be seen—light pollution, of course—but the moon was bright and close. It was quite peaceful. He sighed, wishing he’d thought to bring a cup of coffee with him. But even if he had, he would have to make sure he was out of sight so he could take his mask off and drink it, and it might be more trouble than it was worth. Not for the first time, he regretted that he designed the suit with the mask covering his mouth. But it was too late now. Well, whatever. It was fine, and kept his face less recognizable.

Stretching, he stood up and jumped down to the street below, landing solidly as his specially-designed boots absorbed most of the impact. Recovering quickly, he headed out, continuing the same search he had the last few days, looking for any sign of the kids, Michelle and William. Of course the patrol wasn’t the only part of the search. He was also scouring the local news and Internet, keeping a devoted track of anything that could’ve been a sign of Distorter or the kids. But going out and actively looking around for anything odd was a key part of this. And he still had to keep a hold on any crime, of course. Though luckily, it had been quiet lately.

There wasn’t anyone out on the streets right now. His eyes darted about, looking for anything odd.

“ ~~Hellooooo!~~ ”

Schneep gasped, and whirled around. No, it couldn’t be that easy. But it was. Distorter was standing in front of him, right in the middle of the sidewalk. His ever-present grin seemed more genuinely cheerful than usual, and that made him uneasy. He immediately raised his hands, fists clenched.

Distorter laughed. “ ~~No, calm down, I’m not here for a fight today.~~ ”

“I find that hard to believe,” Schneep growled. The last time he’d run into Distorter out on his own, the creature had stabbed him with some poison blade, almost killing him, and took Jackie in the resulting chaos. And now he’d taken others…“Where are the kids, you motherfucker?!”

“ ~~Not here to talk about that, either, but if it’ll help you feel better, they’re fine,~~ ” Distorter said. “ ~~They’re safe! What kind of monster do you think I am, to hurt kids?~~ ”

Schneep didn’t respond to that. He wasn’t about to trust anything he said. Instead, his eyes scanned Distorter up and down, trying to anticipate an attack.

“ ~~On edge, huh? Wonder why that is.~~ ” Distorter held up his hand, fingers clenched into a fist. “ ~~Could it be because of…this?~~ ” He opened his hands, and a few small white things fell, dropping onto the ground.

“What do you—” His eyes widened. No, he’d recognize that anywhere. “I knew it!” He lunged forward.

“ ~~Nope!~~ ” Distorter laughed, and before Schneep even got close, he threw a fistful of the pills—because that’s what they were, of course—into the nearest storm drain. Schneep stumbled to a stop, gaping. He looked down, seeing a few left on the sidewalk below. Before he could even think about if it was embarrassing to do so, he fell to the ground and scrambled about to try and pick up the pills left. Only for them to fade away, mere illusions. Distorter laughed harder. “ ~~Wonder what others would say to see that. It’s hilarious. Aren’t you supposed to be a self-proclaimed hero? Crawling on the ground?~~ ”

Schneep shot up and swung a fist. It connected with Distoter’s chin with a crack! and a discharge of electricity, making him stagger backwards. He honestly hadn’t expected it to make contact, so he stumbled as well. “Son of a bitch,” he growled. “Why?! What did you do with them?!”

“ ~~Your pills? Uh, I just threw it in the sewer, thought that was obvious~~.” Distorter rolled his shoulders in what could have been a shrug, but it was a bit too…flexible. “ ~~And as for why? Well, you’re alive, unfortunately. So I’ve decided to stop trying for the moment. And instead of killing you, what if I just make you as miserable as possible?~~ ” His grinned widened. “ ~~How long would it take for you to give up?~~ ”

For a moment, Schneep was speechless. Then, he laughed. “You think that anything you could do would wear me down? You are wrong! So fucking wrong! I have lived through worse than what you can do to me!”

“ ~~Hmmm are you sure?~~ ” Distorter tapped his fingernails on his arm. “ ~~Why are you so concerned about the others knowing, then?~~ ”

Schneep stiffened. “I…I am not going into details with you.”

“ ~~It’s because you’re scared.~~ ” Distorter took a step forward. The air seemed to shiver around him, making it hard to focus on him. “ ~~Scared of what they’ll think of you. You know how most people react hearing about this condition of yours, hmm? You’ve experienced it enough times. The last thing you want is for your friends to think of you that way, think of you as out of control or even dangerous.~~ ” He laughed. “ ~~It’ll be harder for you to keep it from them now, won’t it? Now that dear Jackie is staying with you. I wonder—~~ ”

“Shut the fuck up!” He tried to swing another punch, but the world shimmered and shifted, and Distorter was now standing to his left, watching him stumble. He regained his balance, then whirled on him. “They would not care. They are different.”

“ ~~Then why haven’t you said anything yet?~~ ” Distorter tilted his head. “ ~~It’s been, what, five years since you met them? Plenty of opportunities~~.”

And despite his desire to shout at Distorter, to profess his trust in his friends, Schneep still hesitated.

“ ~~Exactly.~~ ” Distorter giggled a bit, and then disappeared. Schneep balked for a second, but of course it was another illusion. Distorter’s voice still echoed from the same spot. “ ~~Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. Good luck for the next…six days, was it? I’ll be watching.~~ ”

For a long moment, Schneep kept standing there. He knew that he should probably be trying to follow Distorter, finding out where he lived—or…lurked, or whatever—and where he’d taken the kids. But he was just frozen.

Eventually, he pushed it out of his mind. Distorter was messing with him, as he was messing with all of them. He wouldn’t let him get to him. It was just six days. It would be fine. And with that, he continued on.

* * *

He went to work again the next morning, because he, unfortunately, needed money. And just like the previous day, he entered the apartment, announcing “It’s me, I’m home.”

Jackie was on the phone. He waved at Schneep as he entered, then returned to whatever conversation he was having. “No, I can’t think of anyone. You already asked Rama, right?” He paused. “Well…yes, it’s a possibility. But the, um…other thing is also a possibility.”

Schneep paused, listening curiously for a moment. Then the alarm on his phone went off. He swore softly, hurrying to turn it off. For some reason, even though he’d scheduled it for the same time every day after work, he hadn’t been expecting it. Giving Jackie an apologetic look, he headed over to the kitchen area and grabbed a bag of pretzels.

“Alright, let me know, of course,” Jackie said. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay, goodbye.” He hung up, and sighed.

“What was that?” Schneep asked, curious.

“It was one of those detectives, Kikelomo,” Jackie explained. “I told you those two were assigned to Michelle and William’s case, right?”

“Yes.”

“She was wondering if there was anyone who, uh…didn’t like me, I guess? She explained it like having any enemies, but I dunno, that’s a strong word.” He paused. “You know…because there’s no sign of who we know _actually_ took them, so the police are looking for other possible leads.”

“Hmm.” Schneep nodded silently, opening up the bag of pretzels. “I…unfortunately, I have not found anything.”

“I don’t expect you to,” Jackie said softly. “I think…I think that we must start looking in that…place. But to be honest, I…don’t even know where that is.”

Schneep paused. “The…place where he kept you?”

Jackie nodded. “I don’t remember getting there. And when I finally got out, I was…wasn’t really paying attention to where I was. So I have no idea where…you know.”

“What about…that Stacy lady?” Schneep asked. “She found you, so wherever that was, it was probably nearby to that place.”

Jackie looked over at him, eyes wide. “I…hadn’t even thought of that. I-I guess I could ask her where that was. But how would I bring that up?”

“Just ask, it will be fine,” Schneep said reassuringly. “Or if you want, one of us could ask her.”

“No, I can do it. God, why haven’t any of us thought of that before?”

Schneep shrugged. Jackie looked down, and he recognized the way his eyes were starting to glaze over. Quickly, he changed the subject. “Do you want a pretzel?”

Jackie laughed. “Yeah, sure.”

* * *

Things started to go downhill on the second day after losing his medication. At work, he snapped at his coworker Jennifer to stop whispering to herself, it was very distracting. Jennifer had been startled, and denied any whispering. Hearing that, Schneep’s heart sunk, pulled down with dreadful anticipation. Already? He thought it would be another couple days…Though if the symptoms were manifesting now, it could possibly explain the listless feeling he’d had that morning, which had been dragging at him throughout his shift.

He tried not to show how shaken he was once coming home, and Jackie didn’t seem to notice. So he prepared to go out that night again, as normal.

Luckily, it was another uneventful night. Because he wasn’t sure how much he’d be able to concentrate on stopping any crime with the constant background noise that he couldn’t escape. He could barely make himself patrol, and found nothing in his search.

He was tired. Not physically, though he knew his sleep schedule had much to be desired. No, this was a mental sort of worn-down, and he just knew it would get worse throughout the next few days.

* * *

He had a day off, and naturally ended up sleeping in. But he woke up to the sound of people talking. What was it, a whole crowd? Or was he even really hearing it? He stood up, stretched, and peeked around the wall separating his sleeping area from the front room. “Oh. Hello, Anti.”

Anti and Jackie were sitting and talking, Jackie on the sofa and Anti curled up on a chair nearby. “Hey Volt,” Anti said, waving.

“Oh, was I not supposed to let him in?” Jackie asked, a note of anxiety in his voice. “He just showed up at the door—wait, we woke you up didn’t we? Sorry, super sorry.”

“Is fine, you didn’t wake me up,” Schneep assured him, even though they really did. “What are you doing here, Anti?”

“Thought I’d stop by,” Anti shrugged. He didn’t look too good, in all honesty, with dark bags under his eyes and wearing wrinkled clothes. “I dunno. Anyway, Sam is here, too, because they won’t leave me alone.” A green eyeball popped up into the air, bouncing a couple times.

“Ah!” Schneep jumped a bit, taking a few steps back.

“You okay?” Jackie asked.

“Yes, that just…startled me, that is all.” Schneep let out a breath. “Anyway. You two keep going, talking about…whatever you were talking about.” He headed over to the kitchen area, getting ready to start the coffeemaker.

Jackie hesitated. “Well…we were just talking about the kids,” he said carefully. “Nothing…serious, just…talking about them.”

“Oh.” Schneep blinked. “Yes, that…makes sense. I suppose that is what most parents do.”

“If you had kids, would you want to talk about them?” Jackie asked.

“I…probably, yes.” Schneep hadn’t really thought of it before. He liked kids, yes, but he wasn’t really looking for them yet. He didn’t even have a partner. Well, he’d leave them to it. He turned on the coffeemaker, letting the sound fill the room. And he leaned a bit closer. The noise was drowning out the wordless conversation going on in the background of his head. That was…worrying, that he was hearing that. He’d have to tell Dr. Akela about that.

“Volt!”

He gasped and straightened. “Ah—yes, yes? I am here?”

“God, you must be pretty tired,” Anti said. “We’ve been trying to talk to you for like five minutes. Your coffee’s done.”

Schneep looked over at the coffeemaker and realized it was no longer making noise. When had that happened? “Ah. Thank you.”

Anti narrowed his eyes. “You know I can leave or something if you want to go back to sleep.”

“No, it is fine, I insist.” Schneep grabbed a mug from the nearest cupboard, and was about to pour the coffee in when a sudden glowing green orb shoved itself into his face. “Aack! Sam!” He carefully batted them away. “What is wrong with you?” They stayed around his head, shoving against his cheek like a pet begging for attention. “Anti, control your…strange…eyeball…pet.”

“Hey, they’re not mine!” Anti protested. “And they’re a lot smarter than a pet! I think. I dunno, I never really had a proper pet.”

“Really? Not even as a kid?” Jackie asked.

“Not a _real_ one,” Anti emphasized. “I tried to kidnap a couple of birds as pets, some squirrels, a badger once—that was a bad idea.”

“Jesus, didn’t your mom ever say no?” Jackie said, shocked.

“Nah, she didn’t really care,” Anti leaned back against the chair. “I’d go out into the woods around town and just bring back animals and as long as they didn’t destroy anything, she didn’t care. Didn’t really care about much at all, really.” Suddenly, he stiffened, clamping his mouth shut. He reached into his jacket pocket, where he seemed to be grabbing something. A pocket knife, most likely, knowing him.

“My parents would have murdered me if I brought _any_ animal home,” Schneep muttered. “Always on about keeping the carpets clean. And looking presentable.” There was a distinct note of bitterness in his voice as he continued. “All the image, all the time. Always their word the end of everything, because clearly they knew what was best. Do not even bother to ask.” He finished pouring the coffee, taking a sip of the hot, hot liquid. Honestly, he was glad they had no idea where he was. Not like they were actually upset when he first left. It was more about the idea of having their son get away than it was about his well being.

Jackie looked between the two of them, eyes sympathetic but saying nothing. “Well…Rama was thinking about getting a dog or something,” he said after a moment. “After Michelle…gets back, we were thinking we’d go adopt one.”

“Big dog?” Anti asked.

“Dunno.”

“You’d probably want an energetic one, to keep up with her. Google good family dogs, or something.”

“Jackie if you get a big dog I am never coming over to your house again,” Schneep warned. “You are on thin ice for getting a dog of any kind.”

“Aw, Volt, I’m sure if you spend time around some dogs, they won’t be as scary,” Jackie said.

“Yeah sure, fine. I will spend time with your new dog. Watching it. From the other side of the room.” Still, Schneep couldn’t help but chuckle. “Get one that is good with cats, too, then Marvin’s cat can be friends with it.”

The conversation continued for a few more minutes before Anti decided he wanted to leave. Sam followed, of course, seemingly attached to him. And by then, Schneep had almost forgotten about the noise in his head. Almost. He appreciated the distraction, at least.

* * *

“Jackie, please stop hovering!” Schneep snapped, whirling his desk chair around so he could face the shadow peering over his shoulder. “You are like a helicopter!”

“Uh…what?” Jackie’s voice didn’t come from the figure’s location. Instead, the bathroom door opened, and Jackie poked his head out. “Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

Schneep visibly paled. “Um…never mind, it is nothing.”

“You said my name, though?” Jackie turned the statement into a question in his confusion.

“No, never mind, go back to…what you were doing. What were you doing?”

Jackie blinked. “I was…going to try to take a shower. I told you that. About two minutes ago. Didn’t you hear me?”

“Oh, uh…no. Sorry.” Schneep looked down, embarrassed.

“Right. Well, uh…I’m gonna try to take a shower. You might want to check on me in, like, ten minutes. Just in case.” He swung the door closed again.

Schneep breathed out, shakily. It was _definitely_ getting worse. Though he now knew Jackie was in the bathroom, and could hear the faint trickling of water (Jackie rarely ever turned the water up to a high pressure), he could also swear there was another version of him, standing behind his shoulder. He could see the familiar figure, though if he tried to look at it directly, it would always stay in the corner of his vision.

It was fine. Just a couple more days. He swiveled back around, facing his computer, where he was…well, he didn’t really know. Just mindlessly refreshing a few different websites. He didn’t want to do anything in particular.

The figure in the corner of his vision seemed to move closer. But he ignored it. Even though his instincts told him there was someone standing right behind him, face close to him, he knew it wasn’t real, and therefore, wasn’t to be acknowledged.

“ ~~Stop ignoring me.~~ ”

Schneep bit back a shriek as he shot to his feet, whirling around. Familiar laughter echoed through the room, going from one corner to the next. He slowly edged along the wall. The figure still stood by his desk chair, but he didn’t look at it. But maybe he should. Because what if it was really…?

Something appeared, sitting on his kitchen table. He jumped, whirling on it, only for it to immediately disappear. “ ~~This is so _easy_ ,~~” the familiar voice said, sounding delighted. “ ~~I’m barely putting any effort into my illusions! Can you just stop taking those pills altogether? It would make things much less difficult for me.~~ ”

“Shut up,” Schneep hissed. “Shut up shut up shut up shut up—”

And again, laughter. It multiplied upon itself, layers and layers of laughing, and he knew it was laughing at him. He couldn’t help but shrink back against the wall. The figure from before walked up towards him, staying just in his peripheral. And there was another one coming from the other side. He grabbed a pen from his desk and threw it towards the second one, to make sure it was really there. It looked like it passed right through, but was that…really happening?

“ ~~Can’t trust your eyes, can you?~~ ” Shadows crawled down the walls. “ ~~Am I even here right now? Well, you just don’t know~~.”

There were more figures. They were starting to fill the room. His head twisted on a pivot to try and keep an eye on them—or look away from them—or try to see which ones are there—or something! They looked like his friends. But their eyes were black, bleeding, just like Distorter’s. He had to be here, right? That had to be why he was seeing things in such great numbers.

He sank to the ground, starting to hyperventilate. The shadows on the wall were warping, _distorting._ He tried to move, staying close to the wall. But he had no idea where he was in the room. Was he even moving at all?

The shadows kept moving, twisting, forming faces and shapes before fading away. He tried not to look at them. Where was the room’s door? Maybe if he left the apartment, this would end—

Something touched him.

He reacted instinctively, lunging forward blindly. Hitting something solid, he tackled it to the ground. Grabbing in a panic, rolling across the ground, he wondered if he should strike, because this was something, something, it had to be Distorter, he was here mocking him—more laughter!—and that had to be stopped, he’d shake it out of him, he had to stop this!

“…Hen…Henrik, it’s me.”

Schneep blinked, and suddenly things seemed clearer without the sudden, intense feelings. It wasn’t Distorter, it was just…Jackie. He’d pinned Jackie to the ground, one hand balled in his hoodie, the other wrapped around one of his wrists. And Jackie stared at him, wide-eyed but otherwise strangely calm. Missing his glasses, and with wet hair from the shower. The shadows on the walls aren’t there anymore, neither are most of the figures. There was nothing really there.

Gasping, he pulled back, standing up. “Jackie! I-I am so sorry, did I hurt you? Oh mein god, I did, I am sorry, sorry, I—”

“I’m fine, Volt,” Jackie said softly, sitting up. “Are…are you?”

“Am I?”

“You were…on the floor, crawling around.” Jackie explained. “I think you were saying something? I don’t know, it might’ve been in German. I just wanted to check on you, but you didn’t say anything when I talked to you, so I thought I could…I dunno. Just that contact would help. But you, uh…freaked out.”

Schneep felt his heart sink with every new word. He took a few steps away from Jackie, shaking his head slightly.

“You…so anyway, are you okay?” Jackie repeated. He reached out, then stopped and pulled back.

“I…am fine,” Schneep said slowly. Unconvincingly.

“Are you sure?”

“I do not want to talk about it.” His tone was firm.

“A-ah—right.” Jackie backed up. “Well, I’m…gonna sit down for a bit.” And he wandered over to the sofa, sat down, closing his eyes. He didn’t move.

Schneep hurried over to the bedroom area. He didn’t want to say he was hiding behind the wall, but there was no other way to describe it. What he’d just done—it was an accident! It was. But that didn’t matter. Jackie was wary of him, he could tell. Unnerved. Freaked out. Scared. Of him. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he buried his face in his hands. One of his best friends was scared of him. 

It was only a matter of time. Soon they’d all think he was dangerous, that he would lash out at any minute. It was an accident! But that excuse never helped. They’d find out what was really going on with him, and then they would say, _that explains everything!_ The last thing he ever, ever wanted was to hurt people, much less his friends. And he couldn’t bear the thought that they’d think he would. But it would happen. They would think the worst of him.

He stayed in the bedroom area for the rest of the day. Jackie never came to check on him.

* * *

Thursday morning, he woke up early. He didn’t mean to. It was just that he usually worked this day, so of course his alarm was set and he’d forgotten to turn it off. Even though he’d called in to work and gotten someone else to cover his shift because he just couldn’t handle working with people right now. Groaning, he slapped the button on his phone to stop the annoyingly cheerful jingle. But now he was up. And unlike most people, he was never able to get back to sleep after being awoken by something.

He stared up at the ceiling. The patterns in the plaster shifted into eyes. Watching him.

Shivering, he got out of bed and started to get dressed as quietly as possible. He didn’t want to wake up Jackie, sleeping on the sofa. God…recently he’d been wishing he’d gotten a different style of apartment, one with more…rooms. There wasn’t a lot of privacy in the studio design. Which hadn’t been a problem until Jackie came to stay.

Jackie, luckily, wasn’t awake. They hadn’t…interacted much since that incident.

Schneep stared at him for a while. Then, before he even knew what he was doing, he was leaving the apartment. Heading down to the bus stop. Not getting onto the line he’d take to work, but instead a different one, that would take him to the east side of the city.

It was still some walk to get to where he was going. He still wasn’t exactly sure why he was going there, he just knew that he needed…something.

Soon, he was knocking on a door, bouncing in place while he waited. Slow footsteps on the other side, and then it opened. “Oh hello—no, Mister, stay away from the door! Go back!—hello, Henrik. Anyt’ing I can do for you?” Marvin smiled.

“Hello, Marvin.” Schneep tried to smile. It didn’t work. “Um…may I come inside?”

“O’course.” Marvin stood to the side as Schneep brushed past him, quickly shutting the door behind him as Mr. Fluffington walked up close. “No. No cats outside, Mister.” He waved his cane in the cat’s general direction, and Fluffington responded by trotting away and weaving around Schneep’s legs. “Anyway, y’need somet’ing?”

“I just…” Schneep took a deep breath. “Am having trouble. Lately. With certain…things.”

He didn’t have to explain anything else. Marvin looked confused for a moment, but then nodded. “Well, y’can stay here for a while, I s’pose. Jems is in the parlor if you want t’talk to him.”

Schneep nodded, and ducked inside the other room. JJ was sitting on the sofa, leaning on an arm and scrolling through his phone. Upon hearing the footsteps, he looked up, surprised. Then he picked up a nearby pen and notebook and wrote down. _Oh hello Volt. It’s nice to see you! Do you need anything?_

“I…need to just…” Another deep breath. “My medication. It…ran out. Unexpectedly. Last week.” He paused. “Can I just…stay with the two of you?”

JJ’s eyes widened, and he glanced over at Marvin standing in the doorway. Y _es, of course,_ he wrote. _Is there anything else?_

“No, it is fine.” Schneep sat down on the sofa next to Jameson, leaning back and closing his eyes. “Just some time, please.”

The two of them seemed to understand. And so some time passed in silence. It was…comfortable. Staying in the living room while JJ looked through his phone and Marvin read in his usual armchair. After a while Mr. Flufflington jumped onto Schneep’s lap and promptly fell asleep, preventing him from leaving even if he wanted to.

But soon, Schneep felt his phone start to buzz in his pocket. He didn’t look at it, not wanting to ruin the moment. Yet it kept buzzing.

 _Ding!_ A text tone went off. Schneep jumped and looked around, unsure if he really heard that or if it was just part of the noise. But then he saw Jameson typing something out and shrugged it off. Until Jameson gave him an odd look. And then a couple more as he continued the text conversation. After a while, he put the phone down and picked up the notebook, writing, _Jackie was wondering where you were. Apparently you aren’t responding to his messages._

“Oh.” Schneep squirmed, though that soon got an upset look from Fluffington, so he stopped. “Well…my phone is in my pocket. And there is a cat here.”

_Well I told him you were here, and he’s coming over._

“What?!” The sudden startled motion definitely dislodged Fluffington, who jumped off and walked away. “Oh no, sorry kitty!” Schneep looked at JJ. “Why did you say that?!”

 _He was worried,_ Jameson explained _. He thought you-know-who was behind it. So now he’s coming by, and Anti said he might come too because apparently Jackie sent him a few freaked-out messages before he texted me._

Schneep looked down. Jackie was going to be so upset, knowing he made him worry over nothing. Well, no way to avoid it.

It seemed like only a few minutes later when the doorbell rang. Marvin got up to get it again. Schneep tried to sink further into the sofa cushions, and JJ put a hand on his leg as a show of support. Soon Jackie came bursting into the room. “Henrik! What happened?! Why’d you leave?! I mean I don’t mind if you have somewhere to go but usually you tell me. Is something wrong?”

Anti and Marvin appeared behind him. “Y’know I think something _is_ wrong,” Anti muttered. “Volt, you look like a kid heading to detention after school. What happened?”

Schneep was talking before he was even fully aware of it. “Jackie, I am so sorry, I made you worry for nothing, I do not even know why I came here, probably because these two already know, which would make it easier, and also they have a cat and that makes a lot better, but now I made you worry about nothing and I know I am a bad friend but I promise I would not hurt you ever, I really do, anyway I was on autopilot walking here, feeling sort of out of all sorts of energy and I don’t know, I thought it would help maybe—”

“Jesus fuck, man,” Anti said. “Slow down and breathe, maybe.”

“What are you talking about?” Jackie asked. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me. Is…is this still about the thing that happened yesterday?”

“It is not me!” Schneep stood up. “I promise you, this is not an indication of who I really am, you know who I am, I have not been hiding anything from you—well, yes, I have, but nothing that is any big indication of who I am, it is just that I ran out, and that changes things—”

“Ran out of what?” Jackie asked, baffled.

“My medication!” Schneep blurted out. “I take—it is called Zyprexa, or something like that, I cannot quite remember right now. I will have to ask Malcolm when I see him tomorrow, or I could just check the labelling—”

“Henrik, please, slow down,” Jackie said, laughing a bit. “I can’t keep up. You take something? I didn’t know that. But there’s nothing wrong with that, you know I do, too. And JJ does, right?” He glanced over at JJ, who nodded. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“It is different,” Schneep insisted. “Yours are to regulate your focus and such, this is…it is different.”

Jackie frowned. “It can’t be that different?”

“Uhh…” Anti coughed awkwardly. “I mean, not in principle, but I get the feeling this is…I don’t want to say ‘different’ again cause the two of you have said that enough.” He paused. “Zyprexa is an antipsychotic, and so it, you know, has different effects than your guys’ Dexedrine and Adderall and—”

“Anti, how do you know what I take?” Jackie asked.

“That’s beside the point,” Anti hurriedly said. “The point is that…Schneep is trying to say something.”

Schneep felt his breath shake, coming out shorter. “I—I—I—” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I cannot. Marvin, Jamie, I told you, you tell them.”

“Are you sure?” Marvin asked. He waited for Schneep to nod. “Well…if you know for sure.” And he turned to Jackie and Anti. “Henrik talked to me one day, I t’ink it was last winter. He said he…has a condition. And t’at he sometimes sees t’ings. Not real t’ings, just…in his head. I s’pose there are other symptoms, too.”

Jackie’s eyes slowly widened. His mouth formed a small O shape. Anti didn’t say anything.

Schneep opened his eyes. “I…could not say anything to you two,” he said slowly. “It is different with these ones, I thought…thought Marvin would understand, which he has. And Jamie just stumbled upon it, really. But I was not so bothered, I think, because I have not known them for so long.” Tears started to build. “You two—I-I care for you very much and—and now that you think the worst of me—”

“Wait, what the fuck?!” Anti burst in. “No! I don’t think the worst of you, what the hell?”

“I know how it is,” Schneep mumbled. “People always think, ‘you have this thing, you are dangerous.’ I am a little odd, perhaps, but I would never, ever—”

“Volt, for fuck’s sake.” Anti sounded exasperated, but not in a bad way. “First off, the stigma around psychosis is stupid. Always has been. I blame poorly-researched movies and shit. Second of all, that doesn’t change who you are. You are our friend.”

“But yesterday, I—Jackie, I—”

“That’s why you freaked out,” Jackie whispered. “You were—were seeing things that weren’t there.”

“I did not mean to hurt you,” Schneep said desperately. “And I am so, so sorry, I-I thought—” The tears were actively flowing now. “It was that Distorter, he took it to mess with me—a-and he might have been there, making it worse with his—his fucking illusions—I do not know, I can never tell if he is really there or if I am just—I am sorry—”

Jackie stepped forward and wrapped him in a tight hug.

All words left him. Schneep’s mind went blank. This was not…not what he was expecting at all.

“No, _I’m_ sorry,” Jackie said. “I’m sorry you have to go through this. That you thought I would be anything but one hundred percent supportive. I am so sorry you felt like you had to hide this. You’re one of my best friends, Henrik. I’ll always be here for you.”

His breath hitched in his throat. “But…yes-yesterday, I must have scared you—”

“I won’t lie, I was a bit shocked,” Jackie said, laughing a bit. “But it was a mistake, Hen. I know this. And I forgive you for it. The circumstances weren’t exactly under your control.”

And with that, Schneep absolutely melted into the hug, now sobbing. For so long, he’d kept this to himself. Afraid of what would happen. How they would react. But now, seeing the two of them showing nothing but love and support…he couldn’t handle it.

The others crowded in closer. Jameson and Marvin joined in the hug. Anti opted for just putting a hand on Schneep’s shoulder, but it was essentially his equivalent of a hug. Schneep wasn’t sure how long they stayed there. A few minutes at least. Of course, it couldn’t last forever. Eventually they all pulled away, Marvin handed Schneep a handkerchief, and they moved on.

“Do you feel comfortable sharing details?” Anti asked tentatively. “Or is that too much too soon?”

“Well…” Schneep hesitated. “It feels like…disorienting, much of the time. Thoughts racing, but at the same time, I am very tired. It used to be I could not get out of bed for a few days at a time, then became very active. And of course, there are things and ideas that are not there. Very…unpleasant.”

“Should we, like, do anything for you?” Jackie asked. “Like, do you want us to help?”

“I…have heard a thing about taking a picture of something,” Schneep said slowly. “And sending it to others to see if it is really there.”

Anti suddenly slapped his own forehead. “That’s what you told me to do with Sam! Then you said it was a mean joke when I sent the picture of them! That’s how you knew to do it!”

“Yes,” Schneep said. “Anyway, I may do that sometimes. Usually I am better at telling the difference, but Distorter…his powers are just more hallucinations.”

“Oh my god.” Jackie covered his mouth. “I hadn’t even considered…that must be scary, Hen, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you, Jackie.” Schneep smiled softly. “Ah…actually, there is another thing. Tomorrow the refill is supposed to come in. I have to go over to my therapist’s office to get it. Could one of you…drive me?”

“I could,” Jackie offered.

 _And I could if that doesn’t work out,_ JJ added. _By the way, do you still want to stay here for a while longer?_

“I…if we all could,” Schneep said.

Everyone smiled, and assured him they’d stay. Jackie leaned close and said gently, “Hey. It’s going to be okay.”

And Schneep believed him.


	16. Unremembered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin is under some stress lately. Not only are the kids still missing, and he feels as though he's not doing enough to help them, but he's been having strange dreams of memories lately.

Nothing could be better on a rainy day than lying in bed with a book and a cup of tea. Marvin adjusted the pillows behind him as he propped up the book. But before he could take in a sentence, he heard a faint _mrrp?_ Glancing at the door to his room, he saw Mr. Fluffington squeeze his way through the gap in the doorway. “Hey, Mister,” he said, smiling. “You here to keep me company? I woul’ appreciate it.”

Fluffington wandered over to the bed. Marvin lowered his hand, dangling it over the side. After sniffing it for a bit, Fluffington butted his head against it and hopped up onto the mattress. Correction: nothing could be better on a rainy day than lying in bed with a book, a cup of tea, and a cat. “Normally I’d warn ye against sittin’ on me and trappin’ me on my bed,” Marvin said, idly stroking Fluffington’s back. “But I’m not goin’ anywhere today, so feel free.”

Though Marvin did have to be honest with himself: he couldn’t shake the lingering feeling that he should be doing something. After all, the kids were still missing. Schneep was out almost every night looking for them, JJ was studying any spells that could help—at this very moment, in fact—and Jackie and Anti were…well, they were doing their best. The stress of having their respective kids missing for two weeks now was wearing on them both. Everyone was involved except for Marvin, and he couldn’t help but feel that he should be helping right now.

“Ridiculous feeling,” Marvin muttered to himself. “‘M doin’ all I can.” Fluffington made another _mrrp_ sound, stretching out across Marvin’s legs. “Ah, you’re lucky, Mister. You don’ have t’do anyt’ing at all. We even take care of food for you. Maybe I shoul’ve been born a cat, t’at sounds amazing.”

He leaned back against the pillows, looking up at the ceiling. So tired today. Some days he woke up and could feel the fatigue dragging down at him like an anchor pulling him into the ocean. Inevitably, the guilt would come with it, telling him that he shouldn’t just be lying in bed. He should be productive! Nevermind if he physically couldn’t walk that far! Marvin did his best to ignore that part of him, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.

And as he tried and failed to focus on the story in the book before him, he found that this was one of those times. That niggling feeling was growing quickly in intensity. Sighing, he picked up the bookmark from the nightstand, slid it between the pages, and slowly sat up straight, trying not to disturb Fluffington. He managed to gently nudge the cat away, pulling off the miracle of moving without making him run away. With not a small amount of effort, he walked down the hall, and with some more effort and a few breaks, he climbed the stairs to the second story.

Ever since Marvin had turned the office on the first floor into his bedroom, JJ had started using the second upstairs bedroom to practice spells. He’d moved all his spellbooks and any other materials there, and recently he’d been considering somehow padding or reinforcing the walls in case any spells backfired in an explosive way. 

Marvin stopped outside the room’s door, breathing heavily and leaning against the wall. His legs were trembling, but he only took a moment before standing up straight and knocking on the door. Only a few seconds later, JJ opened it, looking surprised.

“Hey Jems,” Marvin said, smiling. “I came to check on you.”

JJ nodded slowly, still looking surprised, and walked further back into the room. Marvin poked his head through the doorway, scanning the shelves full of books, the desk with yet more books, and the simple wooden table in the center of the room, free of books. “I see your collection is growin’ fast,” he whistled, impressed.

“Oh, are you Marvin?” There was a woman in the room, red-haired and wearing a pale yellow hoodie. She waved, friendly. “Hello. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Aoife.”

“Ah, you’re t’at other magician,” Marvin recalled. “The one who came to rescue Jems when he left the city an’ ran into—I shoul’ say thank you for t’at. Thank you. It’s a pleasure t’meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Aoife said. “JJ’s told me a lot about you. Though I seem to have underestimated your Irish accent.”

Marvin laughed. “Well, I can pick up a trace o’the same in you. Especially your name, t’at’s a strong Irish name if I’ve ever heard one.”

JJ tapped the table, drawing Marvin’s attention back to him. He held up a notepad, which had apparently been left nearby, on which he’d written, _I thought you were going to rest today._

“It’s fine,” Marvin dismissed. “I jus’ wanted t’pop right in, see what you two were doin’, magic-wise.”

“Well, Jameson was just telling me about his attempts at animal transformation,” Aoife explained. “I’m impressed, in all honesty. It’s a very difficult spell.”

 _I still haven’t done it,_ JJ wrote, pouting a bit.

“But you’ve gotten close! Marvin, have you seen him?”

“Yes, apparently he’s s’posed to have someone t’ere when tryin’,” Marvin nodded. “T’ere was a lot of smoke. And feathers.” He paused, swaying on his feet for a moment. “Are you doin’ anyt’ing else? Is t’ere…t’ere anyt’ing I can do to help you?”

 _Yes, you can go back to bed,_ JJ said sternly.

“Aw, c’mon, Jems, don’ be like that.”

_I’m serious. You’ve gotten much paler in the last few minutes._

“But—” Marvin wanted to protest, but saw JJ immediately writing again and stopped.

I _know you want to help. But you’re always telling me to take care of myself, shouldn’t you do the same for yourself?_ JJ smiled. _Hey, if you want something to do, are you up for practising some more sign? We still need to get the hang of it._

“I s’pose I could,” Marvin mumbled. He took a step backwards, wobbling for a moment. “Hey, when you two are done with your magic, come tell me about it, alrigh’? It’s int’restin’.”

_Of course!_

Marvin waved goodbye awkwardly and headed back downstairs, thankfully finding it easier than heading up. He only had to stop twice: once on the stairs and once in the hallway. Entering his room again, he sighed and collapsed on the bed. Well. Looks like today was just going to be another one of those days.

A small cat face poked into his field of view and he chuckled. At least Mr. Fluffington was still here. Marvin patted him on the head, then reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a book. Not the one he had before. Instead, this one was titled: “Basics of BSL: Learn to Sign in Ten Chapters.” He opened to the spot he had marked and started to read intently.

* * *

The room was freezing, bone-deep cold leeching the warmth from any exposed skin. He could see parts of the sky through the gaps in the boards across the window. It looked just as gray and cold as it was inside.

His breath rattled in his throat, and he coughed into the tattered pillowcase. Even though the door was ajar, he didn’t think he’d be able to make it off the bed and across the room. He was so…so tired. This was the sort of fatigue that left weakness in every limb, a fatigue that he was, unfortunately, all too familiar with. Sometimes when he felt like this, he couldn’t help but remember the first time: barely eight years old, lying in bed too tired to even move, terrified that it would stay that way for the rest of his life.

But at least back then, he had some family still there to stay with him. Now? He didn’t even know where he was or how he got here, and he’d much rather be alone than with this thing.

Speaking of which…he glanced over at the door again, just in time to see it start to creak open. A hand crept into the room, blackened and dead-looking. He immediately turned his head away, burying it in the pillow. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep, it would go away. Doubtful, but it’s worth trying.

He didn’t hear the footsteps, but he felt the sudden weight settle down on the edge of the bed. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to keep his breathing slow and even, difficult as it was. The silence in the room weighed down on him. And then he felt the weight shift, getting closer to him. “ ~~Still sick, then?~~ ” said that voice, that eerie voice with absolutely nothing memorable about it. “ ~~Aww~~.”

The blanket was pulled back. It was thin, but it was a layer of warmth, and without it, he started shivering. “ ~~Hey.~~ ” A hand grabbed his shoulder and started shaking. “ ~~I know you’re not asleep. Look at me. _Look at me_.~~”

He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he didn’t, so he lifted up his head and glanced over his shoulder. There it was. Black eyes dripping. Face always smiling. “Leave me alone,” he whispered, voice rasping from disuse.

“ ~~But I’m here to help you.~~ ” It sounded upset, but of course, he didn’t believe it for a second. “ ~~See?~~ ” In its hand, it held a small purplish bottle with a white cap. It held it up and waved it. “ ~~I got you medicine~~.” 

“N-no…” He pushed himself upward, but wasn’t able to completely get into a sitting position, so he ended up awkwardly scooting back against the bed’s headboard. “No, I-I don’ want…”

“ ~~Don’t want what?~~ ” It crawled closer, and he flinched, unable to get farther away. “ ~~You should accept help from your friends, you know~~.”

“You’re not my friend,” he mumbled, turning his head away. And besides, he didn’t want anything that it would give him. Past experiences have proved that it wouldn’t be anything good.

“ ~~Now that’s just mean.~~ ” He glanced toward it just in time to see it unscrewing the lid of the bottle. “ ~~I just want the best for you.~~ ” Quickly, its hand shot out and grabbed him by the chin, turning his face toward it. He tried to push it away, but in this condition it just turned into weak flailing. “ ~~Now help me help you, or I’ll have to do something drastic.~~ ”

* * *

Marvin woke up with a start, still shivering from the cold. It took a solid minute for him to look around and ground himself in his surroundings. It was just his room. Everything was fine. Everything was okay. Slowly, half-expecting something to grab him from the shadows, he reached out and turned on the lamp on his nightstand.

The light was comforting. Nothing could hide in the light. But even with that, his eyes kept scanning the area for anything. After a few searches of the room, he sighed, leaning back against the pillows.

Why could he only remember things in dreams? Marvin didn’t know much about memory, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t how it worked. It wasn’t how it worked for Jackie. _He_ remembered every moment of the nine months he spent with Distorter. Meanwhile, Marvin didn’t even know how long he was with that…creature. But given how many dreams he’d had, it must have been quite a while.

He lay back down, but his eyes felt glued open. It was some time before sleep came again.

* * *

Good Owl Books was a quiet shop. True, it received a steady stream of customers, but there was always a hush in the air, like stepping into a library. Except you could actually keep the books you got here. The shop owners were a pair of elderly women who were understanding of their employees’ needs, and always forgiving of absences. Not to mention the shop’s collection was extensive, mostly fiction but with an impressive set of nonfiction as well. They even had a small area of the shop that was taken up by a coffee stand. And it was for all these reasons that Marvin had taken a job here.

He was working the register today. A simple enough task, so he was happy to take it whenever it was available. It was much easier than moving boxes of books from storage to the shelves. The manager allowed him to read when he wasn’t busy helping anyone, provided he keep an eye on his own book so it didn’t get mixed up with the wares. Also, they had chairs for the workers behind the registers. Now that was a definite improvement since Marvin’s own time.

The sound of soft footsteps on the shop carpet was familiar enough that Marvin instantly bookmarked his place and got ready to help the approaching customer. He slid the book under the counter and looked up. “Hello, how was your shoppi—wait.” Marvin blinked. “Miss Stacy?”

“Oh, so this is where you work.” Stacy looked mildly surprised at this. It was understandable, though. After all, she’d just run into an acquaintance in a place she wasn’t expecting at all. “Well, it, um…” She glanced around, clearly feeling awkward for once in her life. “It suits you.”

“T’ank you.” Marvin cleared his throat. “I haven’ seen you in here before. Just droppin’ by?”

“Yes, I figured if I’m going to be staying in town indefinitely, then I might as well get familiar with the area.” Stacy set a small stack of books on the counter. “And pick up some reading material while I’m here.”

“Great idea.” Marvin picked up the fancy scanner and started looking for the barcodes. “Ye much of a reader, Miss Stacy?”

“Just Stacy is fine,” she said. “And no, not really. My sister was always more into books than me.”

“Sister?” Marvin raised an eyebrow, curious, but then made his face blank as he decided not to push it. He wasn’t sure if the two of them were close enough to talk about that.

But nonetheless, Stacy _wanted_ to talk about it. “Yes, she lived here,” she explained. “Moved here for college, then decided to settle down with her boyfriend and get married. We visited each other as often as we could, but flights are expensive, unfortunately.” 

Marvin nodded, trying to look understanding. He’d scanned about three of the books, and there were about five left.

“So…you like books, right?” Stacy asked.

“Woul’ I be workin’ here if I didn’?”

She chuckled a bit. “Well, I wasn’t sure. I thought maybe it was close enough by that your partner could drive you—”

“My what?” Marvin blinked, taken aback by the phrase.

“Your…partner,” Stacy said slowly. “You know, Jameson.”

It took a moment for ‘partner’ to register as something other than ‘for business,’ and the moment it did, he dropped the scanner in shock. “No! No, Jems and I aren’—not that way.”

“Oh my god I’m so sorry.” Stacy’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock. “I shouldn’t have assumed—”

“Well, a lot of people t’ink t’at, but no, we’re not—not together.” Marvin felt his face grow flushed.

“I shouldn’t have thought—just because you live together—”

“It’s alrigh’, don’ worry.” Marvin picked up the scanner again. “We’re close friends, t’at’s all. I’m not Jems’s type, anyway, and he’s not mine.” He coughed awkwardly, and scanned another book. “What were ye goin’ t’say? About books?”

“I was…just going to ask if you had any suggestions,” Stacy muttered. “Based on these ones here.”

“Ah.” Marvin set down the book and looked over Stacy’s choices. Two biographies, one advice book, four realistic fiction novels, and one…well, that was odd. “Sorry to ask, but…did you mean t’get t’is picture book?”

“Oh. Um…yeah.” Stacy shifted awkwardly. “It’s stupid, it just reminded me of my niece.”

“T’at’s not stupid at all.” Marvin scanned the cover of the book. A simple drawing of three rabbits took up the cover, the art style soft and watery in pastel colors. “I t’ink it’s sweet t’at you’re t’inkin’ of her. She’d like it.”

“Oh…yeah, she did. It was her favorite.”

Marvin glanced up. He wasn’t all that great at judging tone of voice, but even he could hear the deep sadness in Stacy’s last sentence. Immediately, he felt bad for unknowingly bringing up something to cause that, so he cleared his throat again and moved on, scanning the picture book. “Well, I can’ really give you suggestions, t’be honest. I’m more of a fantasy type of reader. Maybe jus’ stick wit’ the section you found these in.”

“Right.” Stacy nodded. 

Marvin finished scanning the rest of the books in silence. He hit a couple buttons on the cash register. “T’at’d be 147.25,” he said.

“Yes, yes.” Stacy took a wallet out of her purse and pulled out a debit card. As Marvin scanned it, she shifted awkwardly on her feet. As he handed her the receipt and a pen for her signature, she suddenly said, “Can I tell you something?”

Marvin looked up, surprised. “Ah…I s’pose so?”

“The reason I came to this country…wasn’t originally for a vacation,” she said slowly. “I come here every year, around the same date. Normally I don’t stay this long, but I was…I wanted to make sure everything worked out with you, after I found Jackie.”

“…Oh?” This felt deeply personal, and Marvin wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to hear it, but she seemed like she needed to say this.

“I come here to pay respects,” Stacy said, almost too quiet to even hear. “To…my sister. And her kids.”

“Oh.” Marvin’s stomach slowly sank. “My…my condolences, Miss Stacy.”

“It happened years ago, at this point, but I still remember them.” Stacy kept her eyes down at the counter. “They were my only family.”

“I…I’m so sorry.” Marvin shook his head slowly.

“Thank you.” Stacy took a deep breath, then picked up the pen and signed the receipt. She handed it back to Marvin, who put it into the appropriate slot in the cash register. “I’m sorry for suddenly bringing this up. I just…I’ve been thinking about them lately.”

“You had t’get it off your mind, it’s alrigh’,” Marvin nodded. “I just hope t’at you don’ do t’at wit’ every cashier.”

Stacy laughed suddenly. “No, don’t worry. I suppose that…because I recognized you, it just all came spilling out. I’m still so sorry. I promise I’m not usually like that.”

“It’s really alrigh’. Now, d’you need a bag?”

“Oh. Oh right. Yes, please.” Again, Stacy fell silent, watching as Marvin slid the books into a bag. “Thank you.” She took it from him, then cleared her throat. “Well…perhaps I’ll see you soon.”

“Perhaps. G’bye, Miss Stacy. Feel free to return anytime.”

Marvin turned to the cash register and pretended to mess with it while Stacy left. He didn’t move until he heard the bell at the store’s entrance chime merrily. Then he slumped. “Well.” It was all he could say. “Well.” That was…a very odd encounter. He wasn’t too familiar with Stacy, but he knew enough to know that was sort of out of character. It must have really been weighing on her. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had anyone she could talk to about this.

He shook his head. This wasn’t the time to think about this. He was at work, and in fact he could see another customer heading towards the till. Marvin straightened, put his best customer service smile on, and got back to work.

* * *

The darkness was almost complete. Almost being the key word. There was a sliver of gray light coming from underneath the closet door. He pressed his face to the floor to peer out from under it. Why was everything in this place, even the light, tinted with gray? But gray was better than pure blackness, so he stayed close to the small bit of light.

It felt like the room was getting smaller. He knew it wasn’t, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling. And he could barely move as it was, his legs pressed against the wall. Maybe it was smaller than last time. Maybe that was why he thought it was shrinking.

Everything was cramped. His throat was dry, and his stomach clenched painfully. How long had it been? Must’ve been almost a day. A day since he…he couldn’t remember what he did, but he remembered that it got angry with him. “ ~~If you’re going to be like that, then I’ll just leave you alone!~~ ” It had shouted.

He didn’t want to be left alone anymore. Slowly, he reached up and knocked on the closet door. “Are you th…?” he asked, quieter than he wanted. He cleared his throat and hit the door again. “Are you here? Can you hear me? I…I’m sorry.” His voice broke on the last word. “Please, I’m sorry.”

There was no answer. He pushed himself into a sitting position, pausing for a moment as his head spun, and banged against the door as hard as he could. “Can you hear me?!” he yelled. “Please! I’m sorry, jus’…jus’ let me out!”

Long after his fists started to hurt, the voice came from the other side. “ ~~Did I hear you asking for me?~~ ”

He rested his forehead against the wood of the door. “Please…I-I’m sorry. Jus’ please, please let me out.”

“ ~~Oh? But didn’t you want to be alone?”~~ Its voice was mocking him. “ ~~Didn’t you want me to go?~~ ”

“No…” he whispered, slumping downward. “No, I don’ want t’at.”

“ ~~Well, what do you want, then?~~ ”

A sob escaped his throat. He wanted to know where he was and why he was here. He wanted to get out of this twisted house. He wanted his cards back. He wanted his life back. He wanted to see his friends and family again. He wanted to go home.

“ ~~I’m sorry, I couldn’t quite catch that.~~ ”

But of course, it didn’t want to hear any of that. It only wanted to hear one thing. “I want…to be with you. Because…we’re friends.”

Silence. And then the door slowly opened. With his weight resting against it, he fell forward. Right into a pair of arms. He shuddered, but didn’t pull away. “ ~~I’m glad you remembered that,~~ ” the voice said cheerfully. “ ~~We really shouldn’t fight like this, you know. But you’re sorry, so it’s okay~~.”

He nodded, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Marvin woke up, breathing hard. His throat hurt, like he’d been crying out without even knowing about it. Just like every other time he woke up, he turned on the light and scanned the bedroom.

“ ~~Hello again.~~ ”

He tried to cry out, but it turned into a wheezy rasp. It was him. Distorter. Standing in the corner of his bedroom and grinning. Immediately, Marvin made to get away, scrambling out of bed and falling onto the floor. He grabbed the nightstand and pulled himself up, then ran for the door.

“ ~~Ah ah ah~~.” Just as Marvin reached for the doorknob, a blackened hand grabbed his wrist, and then the other, pulling his arms back. “ ~~I need a favor, Marvy.~~ ”

“Don’t call me—!”

He wasn’t able to finish the sentence. Distorter yanked him backwards and threw him to the ground, slamming him hard against the floor. While Marvin was still dazed, he wrapped his hand around his neck and pressed down. Marvin choked and instinctively grabbed Distorter’s hand to try and stop him. “ ~~Now that I have your attention,~~ ” Distorter said calmly. ~~“I want you to deliver a message. Because he probably won’t listen to me, so I’ll ask you.~~ ”

Eyes wide, Marvin shook his head. “I’d never—”

“ ~~It’s just a small favor. Calm down.~~ ” Distorter pressed his other hand against Marvin’s mouth. “ ~~You look so upset. You should smile more.~~ ” He leaned closer, the blood from his eyes dripping onto Marvin’s face. “ ~~Listen to me. Only listen to me. No room for anything else~~.”

Thoughts were becoming difficult. Marvin struggled to move, but he kept…kept forgetting. Forgetting…something. Did it really…did it really matter? What was happening…?

“ ~~ _Listen to me._~~ ”

* * *

There was a door. He knew it, recognized it, but the details couldn’t pierce the thick gray fog in his brain. His hand reached out, and he watched it, as if it wasn’t his at all, but someone else’s. And the hand knocked.

When nobody answered, he knocked again.

And again. Much harder.

That one finally got a response: “Alright, I’m fucking coming, don’t break the door down!”

Footsteps from the inside, and then the door opened. A man was standing there, brown hair and green-and-blue eyes, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with some sort of band logo on it. The man was familiar, very familiar, and he struggled to remember. But the gears of his mind were clogged up with gray cotton, and he fell back down into the fog. “Marvin?” The man asked, surprised. “What are you—your eyes!”

He took a step forward, staggered, and fell against the man, who stumbled in turn but caught him. “…hhhnntsseeeyuhh.” A garble of sounds fell out of his mouth.

“M-Marv? What…?” The man stepped backwards and awkwardly reached around to close the door. “It’s him, isn’t it? What did he do?”

He blinked, and the motion caused two streams of warm red liquid to slip from his eyes. Those eyes locked onto the man’s face. _That’s him,_ whispered a voice. _Tell him what I told you._ A voice that didn’t stand out at all, yet he couldn’t stop listening to it. _Give him the message._ The only thing in the gray fog that gave him a purpose, so he listened. He stared at the man, looking at him so worried, and said, “He wants to see you.”

The man was silent. “He does, huh? Well, he could’ve told me himself instead of…this.”

A light appeared in the corner of his vision. A green light. He glanced in that direction. A small green sphere was floating in the air, flicking a tail. An eyeball. It came closer, and the light was…piercing. Shining through the fog. He stared at it, transfixed.

“You don’t look so good. Here, sit down.” The man pulled him toward a sofa and set him down, crouching down across from him so their eyes were level. “Did this fucker have anything else to say to me?”

 _The address._ The return of the voice made him look away from the green light from the eyeball. Strange, it sounded quieter when he was staring at the light. “68 Aspen Street,” he said, monotone. “Three days from now, at noon.”

“68 on Aspen?” The man repeated, confused. Then his eyes widened. “That’s the—Are you sure?”

“68 Aspen Street. Three days from now, at noon.”

“Goddammit, Marvin, snap out of this!” The man grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “He’s treating you like a fucking puppet, it’s sick! You’re so much more than that. Wake up!”

He blinked again. Those words…they were echoing through the fog, but muffled. Still, he felt like he should focus on them. On this man.

“C’mon, c’mon.” The man shook him again. “How’d you get here? Jackson couldn’t have driven you. Did you walk?”

Jackson? Jackson, Jackson…J…JJ? Did he walk here without him? He’d be upset about that…about him pushing himself.

That eyeball appeared in front of him again, shining even brighter. He heard the man—he knew him he knew him—gasp, but he was too focused on the light. It hurt his eyes, hurt his head—no, it hurt the fog inside his head. It was…burning it away.

Wait, where was he? He’d been here before. It was a friend’s home, wasn’t it? A friend…who was staring at him.

Something suddenly snapped. Marvin gasped. “Anti!”

“Oh thank god,” Anti sighed, relieved. The small eyeball—Sam, it was Sam—flew forward and bopped against Marvin’s forehead. “What happened?”

“I…don’t quite remember.” Marvin shook his head. “‘T’s all…foggy.”

“Well. That’s okay.” Anti leaned back. “Do you want me to call someone?”

“I…Jems. Can you call him?” Marvin’s voice sounded very small. “I want to go home.”

“Right. I’ll text him.” Anti took his phone out of his pocket and started typing.

“Right.” Marvin felt himself slowly listing to the side, and he let it happen, lying on the sofa. Sam flew down and settled on his head, their glow slowly pulsing. He didn’t really notice.

“So…you’re alright?” Anti asked.

Marvin didn’t answer for a while. Anti waited, but eventually got up and started to walk away. It was then that Marvin spoke up. “Why…do I never do enough?”

Anti turned back to him. “You do what you can. I mean, who would be Jackson’s best friend if you weren’t here? Who’d I go to the pub with? Who’d look after Mr. Flufflington?” He paused. “If you ask me, all that sounds like enough.”

Marvin stared at him. He nodded. “Alrigh’.”

“Alright.” Anti turned away again. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“T’anks.” Marvin let his eyes fall shut.

Maybe he should just rest. He was so tired. He should let himself rest.


End file.
